Communication Commons

Have you ever thought of research as an everyday activity?

Driving, preparing for a special event, or cooking a meal are all activities that involve research and planning.

Here are some research and planning questions you might ask before going on the trip:

Can you think of other questions you’d like to add to this list?

The Planning Phase—Process and Scope

The planning phase is an essential part of the research process. In this phase, you think about the information you will need to gather. You map out a strategy for identifying potential resources, and you focus your research topic.

Try beginning with the scopescopeThe focus or “field of vision” of a research project. The smaller the scope, the more the writer goes into detail about a smaller area of study. . The scope of a research question identifies the breadth and boundaries of your topic. A research question can be broad, or it can be focused and specific.

Narrowing the scope of your research question can help tailor the information you find. This can make the research process faster and smoother.

Once you have defined the scope of your research question, try:

• Brainstorming
  • Make rough notes and come up with new ideas that are more broadly related to your topic.
• Making a research plan
  • Start thinking about how you might gather research. This could include performing a Google search, utilizing the library e-resources, or going to the library in person to look through books.
• Mapping out some keywords related to your topic. (Hint: The keywords will inform the quality and types of results produced.)

Keywords

Keywords capture the main idea of what is being researched. Use keywords to search for the most relevant information on your topic. Use them when searching Google or your school’s library database.

When searching for information:

• Refine keywords after your first search.
• Refine again after subsequent searches!
• Keep an open mind, as some search results might be different than what you originally expected.
• Try an entirely new search with refined keywords—small changes can yield different results. (Bobkowski, 2018a)

Check out a video from Conestoga College (2016) on keywords here, and answer some of the questions below:

• What is translation in regards to the research process?
• What are the steps of the translation process?
• What are the differences between a broad versus narrowed search?

Let’s put keywords into practice.

Broad Topic:

Benefits of exercise

Narrrowed:

Physical and mental benefits of exercise for students

Keywords:

students, reasons to exercise, physical benefits, mental benefits, exercise

When searching using keywords, make sure to:

• Note the keywords you use.
• Use definitions when developing keywords.
  • Definitions often include synonyms, and these can help widen your search.
• Document and save your search results often.
  • Save a list of search results in a Word file.

To learn more about keyword searches:

See the following source from Centennial College Library Services.

See the following source from Conestoga College Library (video).

Search Operators

Search operators help narrow the scope of your search results. Search operators include:

• Quotation marks
• Minus sign
• The word or (Harnish, 2017; Bobkowski, 2018b; Common Sense Education, 2018)

QUOTATION MARKS

What happens when you search using quotation marks?

The search will include only sources that include the exact words between the quotation marks.

If you search “physical benefits of exercise for students,” the search will return results that use this exact phrase. Sources on this topic that do not use this exact phrase will not show up as a search result.

MINUS SIGN

What happens when you use the minus sign in your search?

The search performed will leave out any additional words or phrases included after the minus sign.

If your keyword search includes “mental benefits of exercise for students – physical,” the results will include only sources that discuss the mental benefits of exercise for students. It will exclude sources that discuss physical benefits

OR

What happens when you use the word or (between keywords)?

The search performed will include information from either only one of your key search phrases or both together.

If your keyword search includes “physical benefits of exercise or mental benefits of exercise,”your results will include sources that discuss either the physical benefits of exercise on its own or the mental benefits of exercise on its own.Therefore, using or casts a wider net than using and.

Organizing and Documenting Research—Stage 1

Keeping research organized will help in the planning and documentation phases of the research process. Research can quickly pile up in tabs opened on your browser or books scattered across the floor. It can easily become overwhelming to remember where your information comes from. It’s never too early to start taking notes and documenting the sources you’ve found (Bobkowski, 2018a).

Documentation tips:

• Keep a Word file open with any relevant information you’ve found.
• Copy and paste the URLs/links of relevant information into the Word file.
• Write a brief description of the source: what it is about and why it might be useful.
• Keep track of the keywords you use during your search.

Keeping research organized will help in the planning and documentation phases of the research process. Research can quickly pile up in tabs opened on your browser or books scattered across the floor. It can easily become overwhelming to remember where your information comes from. It’s never too early to start taking notes and documenting the sources you’ve found (Bobkowski, 2018a).

Documentation tips:

• Keep a Word file open with any relevant information you’ve found.
• Copy and paste the URLs/links of relevant information into the Word file.
• Write a brief description of the source: what it is about and why it might be useful.
• Keep track of the keywords you use during your search.

Try It!

Here is a drag and drop activity on scope. Drag the narrowed topic and match it with the broad topic.

Think about the research you might conduct when buying a new laptop for school. Some research questions you might consider include:

• What is the best laptop for students?
• What laptop companies offer student discounts?
• What is the difference between a Mac and a Chromebook?
• What laptop has the best warranty?

Now think about how you will go about getting answers to these questions. Some approaches to searching for information could include:

• A Google search
• Consumer reports
• Asking a friend
• Going to a store and asking an expert
• Going to the library bookstore (if they sell laptops)

Consider: What are the strengths and limitations of the information you will receive from each of these sources?

No matter what you are researching, consulting multiple sources of information, and being aware of which offers the most useful information for your purpose, is a key step of the research process.

Locating Information Using Search Engines and Databases

Once you have planned and mapped out your ideas, you can use your focused research question and keywords to search for supporting evidence.

When we need information, many of us start with a Google search. Searches on Google will often produce first hits from crowdsourcedcrowdsourcedA widely networked, collaborative, democratic form of content creation where many people contribute. publications like Wikipedia or blogs. You are also likely to find corporate material or paid company advertisements at the top of your search results. For these reasons, you may want to expand your search to other search engines and databases.

Google Scholar is a search engine for scholarly workscholarly workResearch and publications by professional academic scholars. . However, usually only excerpts from the academic works are given. Access to the full text is often restricted and requires a paid subscription.

The library databasedatabaseAn online collection of materials. offers the greatest variety of credible and accessible resources. It provides full-text access to most academic and professional journals, newspapers, and books. You will learn more about how to evaluate credibility of sources in the Assess subtopic.

View this source for an overview of library resources at Centennial College.

Let’s now use a series of search terms and see what comes up in different search engines. From there, we can compare and contrast the results.

Scenario: You have been tasked to write an essay on the broad topic of green energy. After doing some planning and brainstorming, you’ve narrowed the scope of the topic to “the benefits of electric vehicles.” The keywords you will use when searching for information are: benefits of electric vehicles. You are required to have three sources in your essay. You decide to search for information in three places: Google, YouTube, and the Centennial College library database. The following is a breakdown of your search results.

The first search result on Google is a sponsored advertisement for the company Electric Go.

Some key characteristics of the search result include:

• It is a non-profit organization dedicated to building awareness of the benefits of electric vehicles.
• The organization is Canadian.
• It has sponsorships from government agencies.
• On the website, there is general information on electric vehicles, but no links to sources or references are provided.

The third search result comes from the library database. You use your keyword search with an additional filter for “New York Times” news articles only.

Some key characteristics of the search result include:

• There are eight news articles on the topic of the benefits of electric vehicles.
• All of the news articles are published in The New York Times.
• The full text of each article is available.

The first of the eight search results is titled “The Electric Car Revolution” (2017). Read the source. Some of the key characteristics of the source include:

• There are hyperlinks included within the article to additional credible information related to your keyword search.
• The article references research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance and International Energy Agency.
• There is an explore area with links to additional credible articles on your topic.

Primary and Secondary Resources

Before we look at the differences between primary and secondary resources, view this source from The Learning Portal and Conestoga College (2016) on the types of resources available to you and why using different sources is beneficial for your work.

Please answer the following questions on the types of resources:

What are three types of information sources?

Why is it important to search for information from diverse sources?

Primary Resources

According to the Purdue Online Writing Lab (2020), “primary research is any type of research that you collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research” (para. 1). The observations made through primary research document first-hand observations of an issue, idea, or event.

View this source from the University of Guelph (2019) for more information on primary research.

The Information Cycle

The information cycle outlines how information about a particular event or issue is created and cycles through various media outlets. It informs which information we consume, and when and how we consume it.

For example, information often arrives on our radar through social media, Wikipedia, and news channels. Later on, it is analyzed in academic journals and reports (Thompson Rivers University Library, 2020).

Watch this source on the information cycle from John M. Pfau Library (2016).

Review the infographic from the University of Illinois.

Please answer the following questions about the information cycle:

What is your daily source for information?

What information sources do you trust most? Why?

What are some of the characteristics of information on social media?

What are some of the characteristics of information in newspapers?

How does information change when it is published in academic articles?

Is there anything from the video that surprised you? Why?

Organizing and Documenting Research—Stage 2

So far, you’ve been keeping a Word document open with source links and a brief description of the source. You can also email yourself promising sources you find through the library database. File these so you can refer back to them when writing.

Some sources will be more relevant to your research question than others. For these sources, you may want to make rough notes of key points and why they are particularly relevant and interesting. You may also highlight important pieces of information you might use in your work.

If you want to quote, paraphrase, or summarize from a particular source, make note of the:

• author
• publisher
• date of publication
• page number

If you find something you want to quote directly, note that it is a quote and where it comes from. This way you won’t forget and include it as if it were your own words. Documenting your sources as you begin your research ensures you don’t plagiarize others’ words or ideas.

Later in this chapter, you will learn how to use this documentation to create in-text citations and a reference page for your sources.

Try It!

Begin your journey with the search process here. Identify the key features of Google Scholar and the Library Database. Using the images and information provided in this activity, correctly identify features of Google Scholar and the Library Database.

You recently read a friend’s social media posting about her daily use of vitamin D. She mentions a number of positive health benefits, ranging from improved cognition to a strengthened immune system. You’ve never heard of vitamin D but wonder about its uses. You do a quick Google search and see a few interesting sites. The first is a paid advertisement from a health and wellness clinic. The next site is a medical journal article by a doctor.

• Who are you more likely to trust with providing health information?
• Would you trust a doctor more than a friend? Why?

Writers can learn something from this example. The source of your information and the credibility of the publication and author matter. Being able to assess the reliability of a source is an integral part of the research process.

The CRAAP Test

It is important to evaluate and assess first, as not all sources are written by authoritative, knowledgeable experts.

In the last section, we discussed the different search results you might encounter when looking for information. For example, some search results will link to paid, corporate advertisements. Some of the information on these web pages may be verified and fact-checked, while other content may not be. Does this mean that this information is not credible? No. It means that it is important to be criticalcriticalDiscerning;, practising careful reasoning and judgment. when assessing your sources of information.

One way to assess a source’s content is through the CRAAP test.

The CRAAP test can be applied to all sources found in your search results. Knowing that a source is reliable ensures that you have effectively evaluated your research content (Tucker & Chafe, 2018).

Let’s use the CRAAP test to assess a source.

Start by viewing the source (Colier, n.d.), then look at the table below.

Assessing Source Relevancy

A relevant source is one that is closely associated with your topic of choice. It is important to assess a source’s relevancy to ensure it aligns with your topic, research question, and purpose for writing.

To assess the relevance of a source:

• Read the source thoroughly and in its entirety.
• Read the source again and take notes.
• Look at the ideas being presented in the source.
• Identify whether the ideas presented support your own research topic.
• Identify the author’s bias, if there is one.
• Analyze the source’s content and writing critically.
  • Is it too formal or technical?
  • Is it too informal and does it contain slangslangInformal language, typically limited to and understood by a particular group, the “insiders” who know that language. ?
  • Did you learn anything new after reading the information?

(Adapted from Loyola Marymount University – William H. Hannon Library, n.d. Additional information adapted from The Learning Portal, 2020)

Assessing Source Credibility and Fact Checking

Information on the internet can seem believable and authoritative. But until you assess the credibility of the information’s source, you can’t know whether its claims are complete, accurate, and true.

In the Critique chapter, you were introduced to a strategy, adapted from Michael A. Caulfield’s Web Literacy for Student Fact-Checkers (2017), that explains four steps you can take to check the credibility of a source.

View the source.

Now let’s explore those four steps in more detail.

Let’s circle back to one of the examples from the previous subtopic: the New York Times article “The Electric Car Revolution” (2017). You can read the source here.

Step 1: “Check for previous work” (Caulfield, 2017, para. 3).

The article cites a number of reputable organizations and publications to authenticate the facts being claimed. Some of the other publications cited in the article include:

• Department of Energy
• International Energy Agency
• Bloomberg New Energy Finance

Step 2: “Go upstream to the source” (Caulfield, 2017, para. 3).

We can verify the credibility of the source as the piece is published by the New York Times. The New York Times is a reputable news agency that fact-checks data and staffs writers with credentials and expertise.

Step 3: “Read laterally” (Caulfield, 2017, para. 3).

When researching online, you are probably familiar with having multiple tabs open within your computer browser. This is an example of lateral research. When verifying credibility and fact-checking data, be sure to look at what other authors and researchers are saying in regards to the source. Have multiple tabs open! Cross-check the information being presented (Younger, 2018).

The “Electric Car Revolution” (2017) article links to a number of credible, external resources through an “explore area” in the database. Some of the articles include:

• “New Environmental Clean Technologies Data Have Been Reported by Researchers at Kanagawa University (Life Cycle Emissions Assessment of Transition To Low-carbon Vehicles In Japan: Combined Effects of Banning Fossil-fueled Vehicles and Enhancing”

(Ecology, Environment & Conservation, 2020).

• “Green car sales signal the death of diesel”(The Times London, 2020).

Step 4: “Circle back” (Caulfield, 2017, para. 3).

Remember, it’s ok to get lost or confused when comparing and contrasting various opinions and sources. This is especially true when you are engaging criticallycriticallyDiscerning;, practising careful reasoning and judgment. with a source. Know that once you’ve done this process once, you will be better equipped to do it again for the next source.

When reading laterally, ask:

• Are there critiques of the source?
• Are there different interpretations of the data?
• Are there opinions being presented?

Try It!

Recognize some key characteristics of searching for and identifying reliable sources in the following activity.

From a research perspective, integrate means to unify and bring your ideas together clearly.

When it comes time to supply supporting evidence for your ideas, it is important to be able to identify where you found a particular piece of information, which is why using a consistent filing system to organize secondary research is a key technique.

Then you will integrate your secondary research, being careful to document which words and ideas come from secondary sources. Let’s learn how to do this!

Incorporating Evidence from Sources

After evaluating and selecting sources to support your research question, the next research step is to incorporate them and cite them in your work.

There are three ways to incorporate outside work from either a primary or secondary source: direct quote, summary, and paraphrase.

The three ways can seem quite similar, but there are some fundamental differences.

Direct Quote

A direct quote is when you use information from another source by copying it directly or word for word into your work.

To indicate to your audience that words have been directly copied, you use quotation marks. The quotation marks also indicate that the ideas, as well as the words of the original author, are being used in the exact same way.

When directly quoting, you must include an in-text citation. This will be further explained later in this subtopic.

Summaries and Paraphrases

SummariesSummariesA neutral overview of a text in highly condensed form; the main lines of an argument. and paraphrasesparaphrasesExpressing someone else’s idea in your own words, capturing the same meaning in about the same length, but with new words. also include borrowed information from another source. However, the words borrowed are changed and put into your own words. Essentially, the words of the original source change, but the ideas stay the same.

A summary includes the main ideas presented in the original source. The main points are the key pieces of information integral to understanding the entire source. A summary takes a whole text and provides a condensed version of all the main points.

On the other hand, a paraphrase takes just a section of a text and restates the ideas in your own words. A paraphrase is more detailed than a summary. A paraphrase includes the main ideas, as well as some of the supporting detail presented in the original source (Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d.).

When summarizing and paraphrasing, it is important to remain neutral. Giving attribution to the author by using an in-text citation is also required. More to come on this later in the subtopic.

Scenario and example:

You’ve been tasked to write a research paper on alternative medicine. You’ve narrowed the scope of your research to look at the benefits of meditation. Particularly, you’re wanting to incorporate the physical health benefits of meditation and have found a source with great information. View the source. Now it is time to decide what information you will use from the source and how you will incorporate it into your work.

The paragraphs you’re most interested in begin:

“The health benefits of meditation are so potent that…” (“Spring Cleaning,” 2019, para. 5).

“High blood pressure. Eliciting the relaxation response has been found to…” (“Spring Cleaning,” 2019, para. 6).

Option A:

DIRECT QUOTE

According toDr. Randall Zusman, meditation can help “people who would like to avoid the use of medication if at all possible” (“Spring Cleaning,” 2019, para. 6).
Show Answer

Option B:

SUMMARY

Meditation is a powerful way to treat a number of physical ailments. Meditation has a number of benefits ranging from reducing inflammation to decreasing blood pressure (“Spring Cleaning,” 2019).
Show Answer

Option C:

PARAPHRASE

Meditation can improve an individual’s health in a number of ways. It is often used to treat physical ailments. In addition, it can be used to support traditional therapies. One well-known benefit is it can help people manage stress by relaxing the mind and body. (“Spring Cleaning,” 2019).
Show Answer

Documentation of Sources

When you use direct quotes, summaries, or paraphrases in your work, you need to document and source the information used. This acknowledges and gives credit to the original author of the work. It tells your reader not only that you’ve borrowed information from a secondary source but also important information about the source, such as who wrote it, who published it, and when it was published (Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d.-b).

This is important:

• For academic honesty purposes
• To give context to the audience regarding how current the information is (Note: Your reader is likely to interpret data from 1970 versus 2010 differently.)
• It shows you understand and value the role of documentation conventions and styles (APA, MLA)
  • This is especially relevant to students because proper documentation of sources prevents plagiarism and shows a commitment to academic honesty.

There are two components to documenting sources:

• In-text citations
• A reference page

Before we consider these elements more closely, let’s explore different documentation styles.

Documentation Conventions and Styles

There are a number of different style conventions for how to document references, usually connected to different subject matters.

A few main ones are:

• APA – The American Psychological Association
• MLA – The Modern Language Association
• CMOS – The Chicago Manual of Style

For a complete overview of each style, see the Citation Chart published by Purdue Online Writing Lab (2018).

Please note the following examples and explanations use APA format.

In-text Citations

Here is a brief overview of the basics you’ll need to know to create a correct in-text citation:

Try It!

Begin your journey with integrating quotes, summaries, and paraphrases in the activity below. Each question has a passage that requires an in-text citation. Use the reference information provided to edit the passage to include an in-text citation.

(Portions of this section have been adapted from the Thoughtful Learning article “Should Smoking Be Banned in Public Restaurants?” and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

View the source.

Portions of this section have been adapted from the Thoughtful Learning article “The Killer Bean” and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

View the source.)

Be mindful with the amount of directly quoted material you include in your work! A general guideline is to use no more than 10% directly quoted material.

Scenario: You and a friend are texting about plans for your birthday party next Saturday night. You’re going over the list of things you’ll need: music, food, extra chairs, etc. All of a sudden, your friend says, “We the North—Raptors for life.” The comment came out of nowhere. You’re confused and ask for clarification. Your friend then texts back saying, “Oh, I know you love the Raptors. Maybe we could do a purple and red Raptors-themed party?”

Why were you confused? The Raptors comment was unclear and out of context. Once the comment was explained and put in context, it made sense.

Writers can learn something from this example. Providing contextcontextThe background situation or larger ground within which something is situated. in your writing matters greatly to your audience understanding your message.

Contextualizing Quotes, Paraphrases, and Summaries

Making connections between your ideas and supporting evidence is a key part of the writing process. Any time you include information from another source, whether it be a summary, paraphrase, or direct quote, be sure to guide your reader. This will help your audience to better engage with and understand your writing. It will also prevent your ideas from being misconstrued.

Let’s think about this in terms of essay writing. You already know that your thesis will have multiple parts and that each part will require supporting evidence (in the form of quotes, paraphrases, or summaries). This is where the following process for adding supporting evidence can be of value.

Check out this source from Lauren’s the Write Way (2016) for an overview of the quote sandwich.

Now let’s practice contextualizing the following quote:

“How much is society entitled to penalize smokers for their decisions because—in society’s view—those decisions are unhealthy?” (Samuelson, 1998, p. 47).

This quote needs an introduction and explanation in order for the reader to understand its significance. An in-text citation is given, but the reader needs more information to make sense of the quote.

Here, the quote is integrated into a sample student piece of writing from Thoughtful
Learning (2020).

(Portions of this section have been adapted from the Thoughtful Learning article

“Should Smoking Be Banned in Public Restaurants?” (2020) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)

While the argument rages over the effects of smoking on public health, the question that remains is this: “How much is society entitled to penalize smokers for their decisions because—in society’s view—those decisions are unhealthy?” (Samuelson, 1998, p. 47). Smoking tobacco is not an illegal act, yet the 25 percent of Americans who do smoke are often treated as if they were criminals. They are incessantly nagged, blamed for numerous illnesses and unpleasantries, and made to feel guilty by self-righteous nonsmokers (Bork, 1997, pp. 28-30). (“Should Smoking Be Banned in Public Restaurants?,” 2020)

The quote from Samuelson is integrated because it contextualizes and supports the author’s main point—the effects of smoking on public health. Another paraphrase is used (from Bork, 1997) to provide further supporting evidence.

When integrating evidence, you may want to use signal phrases. Using signal phrases helps add variety to the way you introduce and integrate summaries, paraphrases, and direct quotes (Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d.).

Here are some examples of signal phrases:

• According to Samuelson…
• Samuelson claims that…
• Bork argues that…
• Bork implies… (Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d.)

For more information on signal and lead-in phrases from Purdue Online Writing Lab (n.d.), view the source.

Info-dumping—What Is It and Why You Should Avoid It

Info-dumping is when a writer includes blocks of text (think: direct quotes or paraphrases) from a primary or secondary source without providing context or background information for the reader. This can be confusing for the audience as it affects the flow and overall style of the writing.

Some ways to avoid info-dumping are:

• Provide background information (who, what, where, when, why, how)
• Be clear and avoid ambiguityambiguityMultiple legitimate but clashing interpretations are possible. Meaning is ambiguous if a passage can be understood in different, contradictory ways.
• Explain the information being integrated

Let’s compare and contrast a piece of writing that uses info-dumping with one with better and clearer research integration.

(Portions of this section have been adapted from the Thoughtful Learning article “The Killer Bean” (n.d.) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.)

The following is from a sample student essay on the environmental impact of growing coffee. The two examples have been adapted from Thoughtful Learning, “The Killer Bean” (n.d.).

Bird species in coffee plantations have diminished by 94-97 percent since many farmers switched to sun-grown plantations (Smithsonian Institution, 1997). At the turn of the century, there were 65 species of common migratory birds found in Guatemala. Today, only one-third of these birds have stable populations, another one-third seem to be in decline and 25 species are missing (Wille, 1994, pp. 58–64). (“The Killer Bean,” n.d.)

Try It!

Provide context for the following quotes by completing the following drag and drop activities.

Use this formula to help you: add context + introduce source with signal phrase +quote or paraphrase +document +explain. Here is an example from “Should Smoking be Banned in Public Restaurants?” Click here for the full article.

Let’s take a look at an example of an unclear statement.

A friend needs help formatting an invitation using themes available on a computer program. She is a computer novice and calls you over the phone to discuss. She knows you’ve done this type of formatting before. This is your exchange:

Friend: “Can you help me make the formatting for my e-invitation look fancy?”

You: “Of course! It’s easy. Click on Design at the top of the page and choose your theme. That’s it.”

Friend: “Wait, at the top of the page? What do you mean?”

You: “At the top of the page, next to the other options. Click there.”

Friend: “I still don’t see it.”

“Click on Design at the top of the page and choose your theme” appears simple, but it is unclear. The statement needs context and an explanation. Here is one reason why:

• “At the top”: People very familiar with computer systems might know where to look for a feature bar within an application window. A novice will undoubtedly ask, “At the top of what?” The top of the application window, the system menu bar, the top of the menu ribbons, the top of the start menu list? For a novice, the statement “at the top” is unclear.

How can the statement be clearer?

“Click on the Design menu option in the blue-coloured row of icons, within the application window. The Design tab is in between Insert and Layout.”

Now, the statement provides more detail, specific navigation, and context for your friend.

What Is Commentary?

In this subtopic, we will look at one more way you can interact with secondary sources—by providing commentary on them in your writing.

Commentary includes:

• Your own attitude towards the original writing (“opinion”)
• Your own explanation of the original writing (“insight”)
• Your own assessment of the original writing (“interpretation”) (Tepper, 2013)

View the source from Tepper, 2013.

Adapted with Permission from Kibin.com.

It is important to differentiate providing commentary from paraphrasing and summarizing. When you summarize and paraphrase, you change the words of the original author but leave the ideas the same. Essentially, you provide a surface-level synopsis of the original writing. When you add commentary, you provide your own original ideas on the secondary source.

Let’s take a look at an example.

(This full writing example (view the source) is from Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing – Volume 2, by Stedman, 2011. The article excerpted is titled: “Annoying Ways People Use Sources.” This work is licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionNoncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 United States License and is subject to the Writing Spaces’ Terms of Use. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. To view the Writing Spaces’ Terms of Use, visit http://writingspaces. org/terms-of-use.)

We will be looking at three parts of the example:

• The original quote
• The documentation used
• The commentary provided

Let’s start with the original quote.

“There is anxiety that scientists lack both wisdom and social responsibility and are so motivated by ambition . . .” and “scientists are repeatedly referred to as ‘playing God.’”

Now, let’s add in the source.

“There is anxiety that scientists lack both wisdom and social responsibility and are so motivated by ambition . . .” and “scientists are repeatedly referred to as ‘playing God’” (Wolpert, 2009, pp. 345–48).

As a reader, you have some basic pieces of information here. You know this is a quote because of the “direct quotation” marks. You also know the source—“Wolpert”—and the year the source was published—2009. But if this is the first time you are reading this quote, you will likely need some additional contextcontextThe background situation or larger ground within which something is situated. . Remember, context provides your reader with additional commentary about how the quote relates to your own writing and ideas.

Let’s circle back and look at the commentary and context provided in the quote.

In the first two paragraphs, the author takes a defensive position when explaining the perception that the public has about scientists by saying that “there is anxiety that scientists lack both wisdom and social responsibility and are so motivated by ambition . . .” and “scientists are repeatedly referred to as ‘playing God’” (Wolpert, 2009, pp. 345–48). With this last sentence especially, his tone seems to demonstrate how he uses the ethos appeal to initially set a tone of someone that is tired of being misunderstood. (Stedman, 2011, pp. 245–246)

You’ll see there is now commentary and context added before and after the quote. In a couple brief sentences, the writer has:

• expressed an opinion on Wolpert’s quote (Wolpert’s quote is a defensive position);
• offered some explanation (Wolpert’s tone uses ethos appeal); and
• provided an assessment (Wolpert is tired of being misunderstood).

When adding commentary to a direct quote, summary, or paraphrase, be sure to:

Dig deep

Look for meaning

Explain and provide support for your opinion

View the chart in this source for an overview of types and definitions of commentary.

Now, try identifying commentary by looking at one of your current or previous pieces of writing. Look specifically for any use of quotes, summaries, or paraphrases.

Asking yourself:

• How does my work include commentary?
• Out of the list of five types of commentary in the chart (“opinion, interpretation, insight, personal reaction, evaluation”), how many have I integrated (Tepper, 2013)?
• What additional commentary might I add?
• Do I have sufficient documentation for any quotes, summaries, or paraphrases used?

Documentation Reminder

Watch this source from Lehman Library (2014) and answer the following questions:

• What is paraphrasing?
• How do you paraphrase correctly?
• What are three steps you can take to avoid plagiarism?

Try It!

Identify whether each sentence is a commentary, paraphrase, or quote. You can read the full source here.