Several details constitute a good research paper. It must be clear, easy to understand, and verifiable. To help make a research paper verifiable and to improve writing, a student draws information from various sources and uses it as a basis for their arguments.
There is a need, however, to apply caution when using information from various sources because if it’s not applied carefully, a student might fall into the vices of plagiarism. Regardless of these vices, a student should not fear to write a research paper lest they plagiarize. They can use the right methods of research and submit plagiarism-free papers.
Understanding what constitutes plagiarism
In academic circles, plagiarism can be defined in various ways, but there is one important definition. Plagiarism is the act of using someone else’s literature as your own and failing to give credit to the author. A student might use a few sentences, an entire paragraph, or copy an entire paper. Even if they acknowledge the source, it can still be regarded as plagiarism.
You can overcome the challenge of plagiarism if you use good research methods. The consequences of plagiarism can affect both your education and future career. If you want to graduate with high grades and enjoy the fruits of hard work, make a habit of using a plagiarism detector online every time you write a college paper. It will help detect things like wrongly rephrased sentences and citations. By using it, you get a chance to improve your writing before submission, and you can shine above many other students.
Understanding the Methodology of Research Writing
In its simplest definition, research methodology defines how you get information that answers your research question. The ‘how’ is what helps you get reliable content that is valid and addresses your research goals.
Before you start your research process, you must decide the information to gather, which one to ignore, where to collect it, how to collect and how to analyze it. The methodology is what will help you justify the design you choose. If you choose a good research methodology, your research paper findings will be scientific and free from plagiarism.
Using the right methodology of Research Writing to help prevent plagiarism
By choosing good research methodologies, you create a framework for scientific research processes and results. At each research phase, you can constantly check and recheck if your information is still valid, quality, and original. You can use quantitative and qualitative data collection procedures, research from books, use questionnaires, or do lab tests and come up with original arguments and conclusions.
Adapt your unique writing style
Every research paper is unique, but they all follow the same structure. Although the structure is common, the content must be different. You make the content different by adapting your unique writing style. Anytime your style becomes similar to that of another writer, it is likely that your work is plagiarized. Similarity can be in terms of sentences, images, tables, graphs, headlines, subheads, etc.
Use software to test plagiarism
Despite your efforts to write the most unique research paper, you might unintentionally use another author’s words, images, tables, or graphs. Even though you are the one who created them from your mind, if another author had created the exact content, your work would be considered plagiarized. You can eliminate such challenges by using plagiarism testing software. If you notice any part that is plagiarized, correct it before submission.
Don’t copy and paste from sources
Your sources only act as a source for inspiration but not a source for content. Read widely and note the source but do not use the wording directly. Instead, you may paraphrase or create an entirely new paragraph from the ideas you get from that source.
Make citation a mandatory rule
Most research papers fail to pass the plagiarism test during citation. As you gather your information, keep recording the sources and highlight every source that you use in your writing process. In the end, use citation tools to help you cite correctly. You not only cite sources for other authors but any personal information you use.
Conclusion
For a research paper to be excellent, a student must use various research methodologies to help them obtain credible, verifiable, and scientific information. The student researches widely, conducts interviews, reads reports, and analyzes various data to make arguments and conclusions. Unfortunately, information collected from various sources can be the source of plagiarism. A student should understand how to use the various research techniques to help them gather information and avoid plagiarism.
