Research Process
Research Process
The state of Georgia and the county of Gwinnett pay for us to have access to some great databases. Students can access these through the Student Portal. Click on the button that says Online Research Library to access these databases.
If you do try to use Google, Bing, Yahoo, or another search engine, please be aware of the credibility and reliability of any sites you go to. Use critical thinking whenever you take any information off of the Internet. Many sites are trying to sell something (like an idea or a product), many just want to put cookies or adware onto your computers, and many rely on opinion rather than facts. Make sure that any site you are using is a reliable source before using the information in your research project. The easiest way to do this is to use a database rather than a website. If you are not sure if a website is reliable,
MAKE SURE TO MAKE A CITATION FOR EVERY WEBPAGE AND DATABASE YOU USE! Most of the databases will give you a citation, but you will need to create your own for any website you use. We recommend using the Google add-on SCRIBLE as a tool that will help you create your citation. Most teachers will require you to turn in a Works Cited page with every paper or project.
Plagiarism
You want to be VERY sure you don't plagiarize, even accidentally. Plagiarizing is stealing other people's word or ideas. When taking notes, your notes need to be paraphrased sentence fragments OR you need to use quotation marks, even in your own notes. Teachers can recognize the difference between your writing and the writing of a professional, so you don't want to use their words even accidentally, without quotation marks. There are also websites that can help teachers identify stolen work. It's easy-- DON'T PLAGIARIZE AND YOU WON'T GET CAUGHT PLAGIARIZING!