Integrating Research into Your Writing

Step One: Understanding your assignment guidelines

• Clarify types of sources (scholarly articles, books, websites) that are acceptable.
• Confirm citation style requirements.
• Check due dates and create a schedule to stay on track - try using the OC Assignment Calculator.

Step Two: Finding Reliable Sources

• To determine whether the source is trustworthy or appropriate consider the following:
  • Author's expertise or knowledge of the topic or issue
  • Author's point of view or specific perspective (bias)
  • Date of publication - Is it current or historical information?

Step Three: Citing Sources

In the academic environment, source material is ‘cited’ or referenced in order to acknowledge and give credit to the work of others who have contributed to your writing. Citations also acknowledge an idea or passage that is associated with a particular author’s opinion or work.

Citing your sources is extremely important in the Canadian post-secondary environment. Failure to cite your sources may be considered a form of plagiarism, which is an offence under OC's Academic Integrity Policy.

Step Four: Integrating your Source Material

There are 3 ways you may choose to incorporate your source material: quotation, paraphrase or summary.

Direct Quotation is to use exact wording of what some one else has said or written. 

Paraphrase is to restate in your own words someone else's ideas at a similar level of detail. 

Summary is to reduce the information given by someone else to its essential parts.

It is important to introduce your citation and then explain its importance or relevance. In the beginning, you may find this formula helpful: 

Review the following links for more guidance on integrating research.

Citation Guides