Conducting a Research Report - continued

3. Use Information

Making Notes
You probably have some favourite ways for making notes on information such as writing or diagramming on notepaper, a word processor, or recipe cards, or recording using a tape recorder, video camera, or digital camera. Check out the prewriting section of this site.

Tracking Sources
There’s nothing worse that having a great piece of information and forgetting where you found it. This will mean you can’t use it because you’re not able to cite its source. You’ll need a system for tracking where you found your information right from the beginning. The best approach is to create a proper citation right away. Do this by hand, in an electronic file.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the copying of original words, images, or ideas of others and using them as your own. It is an offence because people legally own their work. One of the most common - and often unintentional - ways to plagiarize is to cut and paste information into your project and not present it with a citation. It’s easy for teachers to catch plagiarism, so don’t do it! Instead, put idead that are useful to you into your own words and cite the source. Or, if there is a particularly useful but of information, quote it exactly and cite it. This way, you’re a winner and so is the original author.