Graphic Design for Marketing (GDMA)

When writing a research paper, you must always cite any sources that you have consulted. You must acknowledge when you are using the ideas, information, arguments, phrases or any other intellectual or creative output by another person. Not to do so is referred to as plagiarism.  Plagiarism is a serious offense that carries with it severe academic consequences, but that can largely be avoided by always citing your resources.

We cite:

• to distinguish previous from new thought
• to give credit to the person whose ideas you used
• to respect intellectual property
• to help a reader locate the source(s) you used
• to show that you have investigated your topic well
• to avoid plagiarism

Common examples of plagiarism:

• Copying sentences, paragraphs, data or visuals without citing their source
• Quoting material without proper use of quotation marks (even if otherwise cited appropriately)
• Paraphrasing or summarizing information from a source without acknowledgement;
• Paying someone for writing the assignment
• Listing a source in the bibliography/reference list that was not cited in the assignment

Find out more about Plagiarism

The KPU Learning Centres offer writing help, tutors, and workshops.

Step 1 - STOP!

Before you read the article or share your video, stop!

Ask yourself: 

• Do I know this information source? Do I know it's reputation?
• What kind of content is this?
• Who wrote or created it?
• When was it published?
• Who published it?

Step 2 - INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE

• This is where you start to answer the questions such as: What kind of content is this? Is it a blog post, article, or statistics? Who wrote it? Who published it? 
• Investigating the source does not require you to do in-depth research and analysis. It is a quick check into the expertise and agenda of the online content in question.  
• Use Google or Wikipedia to investigate a news organization or other resource. Please note, you are not using Wikipedia for information to cite on a research paper. You are simply using Wikipedia as a tool to check the credibility and trustworthiness of the content in question. 

Step 3 - FIND BETTER COVERAGE

Sometimes, after you investigate the source, you'll find that the source is sufficient for your needs. However, this is not always the case. Maybe the quality of the source is low or it doesn’t adequately answer the questions you have.  

This is when you would want to find better coverage.

• Look and see what other coverage is available on the same topic
• Keep track of trusted news sources
• Use fact-checking sites
• Do a reverse image search

Step 4 - TRACE CLAIMS, QUOTES, AND MEDIA BACK TO THE ORIGINAL CONTEXT

A lot of things you encounter online have been stripped of context. This could be due to inaccurate or misleading re-reporting, edited sound and video, images being shared with inaccurate captions, etc.

• Click through to follow links to claims
• Open up the original reporting sources listed in a bibliography if present
• Look at the original context. Was the claim, quote, or media fairly represented?

• Hapgood, Mike Caulfield's Blog

  This is Mike Caulfield's Blog where he explains SIFT in his own words.

• Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers

• This ebook by Mike Caulfield is freely available online under a CC BY 4.0 license

• Check, Please! Starter Course

  A free, five-lesson course on fact- and source-checking from Mike Caulfield

Fact Checking Websites

Snopes

"The oldest and largest fact-checking site, widely regarded by journalists and readers as an invaluable research companion."

PolitiFact

Fact-checking journalism site. "Our core principles are independence, transparency, fairness, thorough reporting and clear writing."

FactCheck.org

“We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases.”

FlackCheck.org

“Headquartered at the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, It is the political literacy companion site to the award-winning FactCheck.org. It provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular. Video resources point out deception and incivility in political rhetoric.”

OpenSecrets

"Nonpartisan, independent and nonprofit, the Center for Responsive Politics is the nation's premier research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy."