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ACADEMIC RESEARCH

Guide to Writing and Research

The UMUC Guide to Writing and Research provides excellent guidance on researching and writing for various kinds of course assignments. It also includes examples for citing resources using MLA Style and APA Style as well as detailed guidance for the information which should be contained in citations for articles you find on the Web.

How can you find more information about correctly citing articles you find online? Go to the UMUC Office of Information and Library Services home page, and, under the subheading Writing Resources, the link to Citation Resources will take you to guides to citing electronic resources using APA or MLA style. For APA style, you might also take a look at Electronic References, which are excerpted from the 5th edition of the Publication Manual published by the American Psychological Association; for MLA style, click on the Frequently Asked Questions about MLA Style link on the "What is MLA Style?" page.

The Citation Resources link will also take you to the APA Citation Explained tutorial, where you can learn how to identify the parts of a citation using articles, books, and Web pages and then format the information in correct APA style, using interactive exercises. Another link, to Citation, Citation, Citation! from the UMUC Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory, will introduce you to proper citation as a way of avoiding plagiarism.

Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism

Academic dishonesty is failure to maintain academic integrity. It includes, but is not limited to, obtaining or giving aid on an examination, having unauthorized prior knowledge of an examination, doing work for another student, and plagiarism. Academic dishonesty can result in severe academic penalty, including failure in the course and/or dismissal from the institution.

Plagiarism is the intentional or unintentional presentation of another person's idea or product as one's own. Examples of plagiarism are copying verbatim and without attribution all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, illustrations, computer programs, or mathematical or scientific solutions without citing the source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions, or research without citing the source; and using all or part of a literary plot, poem, film, musical score, computer program, or other artistic product without attributing the work to its creator.

Students can avoid unintentional plagiarism by carefully following accepted scholarly practices. For assistance in quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing your source material, also see Chapter 5, "Academic Integrity and Documentation," of the UMUC Guide to Writing and Research. You can test what you have learned about plagiarism by completing the interactive self-study module, How to Avoid Plagiarism, at the UMUC Effective Writing Center.

Online Library Databases and E-Journals

University of Maryland University College subscribes to more than 125 individual library databases which include journal articles, newspaper stories, company financial information, association directories, electronic books (e-books), and encyclopedia entries and which can be accessed by current UMUC students, faculty, and staff via the Web.

The best place to start is Find Articles: Using Library Databases for information on what you will find in the library databases, how to search a library database, how to improve your search, how to search several databases at one time, and how to evaluate and cite what you find.

If you still can't decide which database is best for your research needs, you might first try some searches in one of these databases: Academic Search Premier, Expanded Academic Index ASAP, MasterFILE Premier, or WilsonSelect Plus. Don't forget to use the help screens in the databases for assistance in entering your search, especially in determining which truncation and wildcard symbols are used in a specific database.

Accessing the Library Databases and E-Journals

To access the library databases and e-journals, go to the UMUC-Europe home page and click on Library Resources. Under the Electronic Library Resources heading, click on Library Databases and E-Journals. You will come to a page where you can choose a library database by the first letter in the title or you can scroll down the Search by Subject section and click on a link. Once you choose a database title, you will be taken to a secure form where you will be asked to enter your last name and Social Security/Student Number. (Note: Please be sure to enter the number with no hyphens or spaces.) If you are recognized as an authorized user, you will be connected to the database you have chosen.

Please note:

• If you are a European Division student and your name is, for example, John Smith, Jr., you will need to normally enter Smith Jr as your last name (no comma, no period).
• If your name is John Smith III, you will need to enter Smith III as your last name.
• If you have recently changed your name, you will need to contact your local UMUC Field Representative for an official Notification of Student Name Change form. While you are waiting for the paperwork to be processed, you will need to continue to use your former name to access the library databases.

Access the Library Databases and E-Journals

Problems Accessing the Library Databases and E-Journals

If the term has begun and you are currently enrolled in a UMUC-Europe distance education or face-to-face course, but your registration has not yet been processed in Heidelberg, it is possible you may not yet be recognized as an authorized user.

If you try to log in to the databases with your last name and number and get to a page with an Invalid Authorization message, you should first try re-entering your name and number, as the problem might be nothing more than a typo. If you are still not able to log in, you should click on the Login Help link and click on UMUC-Europe to get to the Library Database Access Request. Once you fill out and submit this form, your enrollment will be confirmed after the current term has begun and your authorization information will be entered, usually within two business days of your request.

Please note: If you are enrolled in a distance education course which is being offered by UMUC-Asia or by UMUC-Stateside, be sure to fill out and submit the appropriate form.

Searching Free Sites on the Web

Using a search engine on the Web can be quite useful for academic research. There is more to it, though, than just typing in a word or two at a site such as Google.com, which can return many thousands of results, many of which probably won't be of use to you and will just waste your time. For a discussion of types of search tools, basic searching, and search engine features, see Search and Use the Internet.

What is absolutely necessary is to evaluate the Web pages you find. Just because something is on the Web doesn't mean it's legitimate, accurate, objective, current, or complete or that it should be used as a source for your academic research. For guidance in evaluating Web pages, go to Google.com and type evaluate Web pages site:edu in the search field. (The site:edu part of the search limits the results to those from educational institutions.) At least one of the results, Evaluating Web Pages: Experience Why It's Important, provides the opportunity to practice assessing the authenticity and integrity of Web pages.

There is a short discussion about the difference between free Web information on sites that are available to anyone with an Internet connection and proprietary Web information—that is, information that must be paid for—in Chapter 6, "Using Library Resources," of the UMUC Guide to Writing and Research. UMUC subscribes to the library databases on your behalf, in the same way physical libraries subscribe to paper magazines and journals for your research.

The Peck Virtual Library Classroom

The Virtual Library Classroom (VLC)—known as VLIB101 in WebTycho—is a library service available to help students, staff, and faculty use library resources. After self-rostering in this free class, you will have access to UMUC library database tutorials, exercises to help familiarize yourself with library databases, and a Virtual Library Handbook to help you identify and locate information resources for your UMUC class assignments.

Help is Available

If you need assistance with the Web databases, you can contact Denise Sokolowski, the UMUC librarian in Heidelberg. For evening and weekend reference assistance, fill out and send the Online Reference Question Form.

Many of the links above can be found on the UMUC-Europe Library Resources page.