Literature Research

The Rowman and Littlefield Guide to Writing with Sources by James P. Davis A thorough and up-to-date discussion of plagiarism and the proper use of sources available today. The new edition incorporates the latest revisions to MLA, CSE, and CMS styles and the lexicon of electronic materials. This succinct and accessible handbook helps writers of all levels to assess, quote, cite, and present information from a variety of sources, including electronic and Internet sources.

Resources for Citing Sources

These resources will help you create, organize, and manage your citations.

This style guide, which breaks down every element of an MLA citation, was created by Barbara Wurtzel of the STCC Library

Fully automated bibliography maker claims to be the easiest way to build a works cited page in MLA, APA or Chicago citation styles.

A complete system to manage your entire research process, including a system for creating lists of works cited in different styles, like MLA or APA. (Note: Zotero only works with the Mozilla browser)

Use information ethically

“Plagiarism occurs when the creative work of another individual is imitated or used without authorization, or when the creative work of someone else is represented as one's own work." From the STCC Student Handbook.

2. Cite ALL of your sources (including images) using:

Even if you are paraphrasing someone else's ideas using your words (rather than quoting), you must cite.

When in doubt, cite!

Why cite sources?

When writing research papers students are often required to create a "resources used" page, a "bibliography," or a "list of works cited." This guide is designed to help you with this process. For more complete information about citations and plagiarism, consult the guides listed below.

Why cite sources? To give the author(s) credit for the original work and to enable your readers to consult the same sources. If any information you use in your paper, whether a direct quotation or an idea, comes from someone other than yourself, you MUST cite the source.

Citing Sources - MLA

Citing Sources: MLA

Modern Language Association (MLA) style is often used by students in the humanities -- English, history, writing, speech, etc. The MLA Citation Style consists of two components: a works cited page and in-text citations. Your works cited page will go at the end of your paper, but you should start to record your sources and their citations as soon as you begin your research. Visit the Online Writing Lab from Purdue University for more help.

Formatting your Works Cited Page

• First, make sure your document has 1-inch margins. Double space your lines and use a standard 12 pt. sized font (your whole paper should be formatted this way)
• At the top, center of your page put the title “Works Cited”
• Start each citation’s first line at the left margin
• Indent any of the citation’s additional lines by a half inch (this creates a hanging indent)
• Your citation entries should be ordered alphabetically by the first word in each citation

Examples of entries in Works Cited page:

Book with one author:

Gelpi, Albert J. Emily Dickinson: The Mind of the Poet. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University

Press, 1965. Print.

Article from library database (scholarly journal):

Barker, Theo. "The World Transport Revolution." History Today 46.11 ( 1996): 20. Academic

Search Premier. Web. 11 Apr. 2014.

Page from a web site:

Wilkerson, Isabel. “The Late Jim Crow.” New York Times. The New York Times Company. 15 Jun.

1997. Web. 1 May 2014.

Web site (in its entirety):

Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Association of America, Inc. 2014. Web. 11 Apr.

Examples of In-Text Citations:

If the source has an author or editor:

If the source has three authors:

(Andrews, Foster, and Harris 32)

If the source has more than three authors:

(Stannis et. al. 55)

If the source has no author, use the shortened title:

("Patients' Rights Laws" ¶ 1 2)

Our Plagiarism Policy

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY

The College considers the following behaviors as inappropriate for the College community and in opposition to its core values and behavioral expectations. These expectations apply to all students. The College encourages community members to report all incidents of such behavior. Any student found to have committed or to have attempted to commit any of the following misconduct is subject to the sanctions outlined under this policy.

Acts of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to the following:

1. Cheating. Intentional use, and/or attempted use of any unauthorized assistance in any academic exercise including dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor.
2. Fabrication. Intentional and unauthorized falsification and/or invention or any information or citation in any academic exercise.
3. Unauthorized Collaboration. Deliberately submitting work prepared collaboratively with someone else without explicit permission from the instructor.
4. Facilitating dishonesty. Knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty, including students who substitute for other persons in examinations or represent, as their own, papers, reports, projects, or the academic works of others.
5. Plagiarism. Knowingly representing the words, ideas, or artistic expression of another as one’s own work in any academic exercise, including but not limited to submitting previously-submitted assignments for which the student has earned credit, copying or purchasing other’s work, patchworking source material and representing the work as one’s own, or arranging for others to do work under a false name.
6. Submitting, in whole or in part, prewritten term papers of another or the research of another, including but not limited to commercial vendors who sell or distribute such material.
7. Theft of materials. The acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a member of the faculty or staff, or another student.

Discipline for Academic Dishonesty

This policy recognizes the right of faculty to manage their class, including addressing directly with students issues of academic dishonesty. When there is information that academic dishonesty occurred, a faculty member may choose to take action as outlined in the course syllabus, including issuing a failing grade for the assignment or the course. Faculty are encouraged to share that information with the CCA. If the CAA is aware of more than one incident of academic dishonesty by this student, in addition to the issuance of a failing grade by the faculty member, the student may be subject to disciplinary action under this policy. If the student believes that there is substantial evidence of error or injustice associated with a failing grade issued because of academic dishonesty, the student may file a grievance under the Student Grievance Procedure’s Grade Appeal Process.

Where the issuance of a failing grade by a faculty member for academic dishonesty will result in a student’s dismissal from a program (for example in nursing and other health care programs), the charge of academic dishonesty shall be directly referred to the CCA for administration under this policy, which shall be completed, where practicable, within thirty (30) days.