ABSOLUTE BASICS

ALWAYS give credit to your source for ANY information you gained and used in your paper, which may be a direct quote, a paraphrase, a summary, or simply the author's idea.
Failure to give credit = plagiarism = failing grade.  It's that simple.

In beginning research:

• look for research information that seems reliable and that can be verified
• ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS get the following information that is included in the works cited page at the end of the paper:
• AUTHOR (if given)
• TITLE
• FACTS of PUBLICATION -- this gets tricky with internet sources, but NOT difficult