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HONORS - Doing Research

This guide is to support Honor Students research needs.

Getting Started

Please go over this info before starting your research!

 

  1. Plagiarism – Please watch:
     
    What is Plagiarism | A Complete Guide To Plagiarism 2019 (7:50 m.) 

           Please familiarize yourself with this plagiarism website:

           http://paradisevalley.libguides.com/content.php?pid=29004&sid=212880
     

  2. Please go to the PVC.Plagiarism Module and take the quizzes in the free Canvas course. 
     

  3. Please watch the following video:
     
    Cite a Source: How and Why You Should Do It - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
     

  4. Turnitin – Please checkout these links on using Turnitin!
      
             https://help.turnitin.com/feedback-studio/student-resources.htm

How to do Online Research

  1. Use the library website to start your research - http://www.paradisevalley.edu/library

  2. Use the OneSearch box to start your research and use the filters located on the left column of your results. You can filter by full text online, scholarly & peer-reviewed, journal articles, publication date (obtain the last 5-10 years), and items at other institutions.

  3. Start your References (list of sources) right away so that you can get to these materials anytime you want, otherwise, you will double your work. Open up a Word document and set up for: Times New Roman, font size 12, double-spaced, hanging indent, & choose the APA style which most database vendors provide and it closely corresponds with the CSE style (name-year) that you might want to use. Or use a citation management tool like NoodleTools.
     

  4. Locate different formats like books, ebooks, scholarly articles, journal articles, primary source materials (Library of Congress, etc.) for your research. 
     

  5. Go to our libraries catalog and locate physical books and media on your topic. You can find the catalog under the Books and More link located on left-hand column off the PVCC library website. You can have books you find sent to you by placing a hold by using the Place Hold link and entering your MEID/password and the book will be sent to you within 4-5 days. Here is more information on circulation and library policies.
     

  6. Locate presentation videos on your topic use: Go to the Library website and locate - Databases> All Database Types> Streaming Videos>Academic Video Online and all of the rest of the streaming video services, especially, Films On Demand! 

    Or go to this link to bring up the various streaming video databases we have: https://paradisevalley.libguides.com/az.php?t=33520
     
    You can also use Youtube and YOUR TOPIC  with the appropriate credible domain like:
    Youtube.com >  Supersymmetry site:.gov
     

  7. Use Google to:

    • Find credible articles in Google Scholar

    •  Use credible domains like: .org  .gov  .edu  .mil  .pdf         

    • Use the following search string on Google by typing in your topic + adding site:.domain For example -  “topic” site:.gov  OR  "your topic" site:.edu  OR  "your topic" site:.org 
      See more EXAMPLE SEARCHES: 
                             ​​“chemistry of explosives” site:.edu OR Supersymmetry site:.gov
       

8. Use specialized databases dependent upon the type of research you are working on.

9. Use an appropriate search & documentation strategy for searching & documenting:

  • Start with your thesis statement or project description

  • Take “keywords” from your statement and/or project description

  • Proceed to use these “keywords” on the search boxes for each of those databases.

  • Use filters to help you limit by format, date, and by institutions(PVCC vs. MCCD libraries)
     

10. As soon as you find articles you think you can use for your research proceed to cite them.

Use a citation tool (if you can) to help you bring all of the citation elements to an MS Word document and label “References”  - You will save a lot of time by doing this and you can always delete those references if not needed. Make sure to use the vendor's citations even though they are not CSE style.  APA is closest to CSE style, so use the APA style for your cites from the journal databases you are accessing. You might also want to print all of your sources in case you need to get back to them quickly. if not, you can always use your References to relocate those items.
 

11. Use the services of the librarian to help you with locating information on any of your topics: 

At the information desk –Please ask us for help,  That's why we are here for! 

Call us at the Reference desk: 602.787.7215 or text us at  Ask a Librarian 24/7 

We are online 24/7 during the semester!  

 

CSE Citing

  "Why must I cite?" you ask!
 

What is it?  
A citation identifies for your readers the original source from which you plucked an idea, image, or other information that now resides in your own research paper, web site, or other work.  You must cite the following:

  • A direct quote is taken verbatim from another source

  • Any source you paraphrase, summarize, or from which you obtained ideas

  • Ideas or facts that are not common knowledge

    A basic citation includes the author(s), title, publication date, page numbers, and other "bibliographic" elements arranged in a particular order.

Why do it?

  • Give yourself some credit.  When you cite, you show evidence of your own research and hard work.

  • Give credit to others (and avoid plagiarism). When you incorporate ideas and information from other authors--whether through direct quotes or paraphrasing--be fair by acknowledging their work.

  • Become part of the chain of scholarship. Contribute to your readers' own research process by giving them the opportunity to follow up on your source material.


For complete citation information see the book! The library has the latest edition of the CSE style manual located at the Information Desk if you need a copy.

Please note that the CSE name-year style is closet to the APA style which may be helpful when citing your CSE references. Please use the following links to obtain further information and examples on how to cite using the CSE style.