WTMC - Plagiarism - WTMC - Research Guides at Washtenaw Community College

Academic Honesty

Is it Plagiarism?

Learn more about plagiarism in the WCC Writing Center Avoiding Plagiarism Guide

What is a Source?

Image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pasukaru76/5325897139

Q: What is a source?

A: Anywhere you get information that isn't common knowledge.

Article from a journal, magazine, website, or library database
Book
YouTube video
Movie
Song
Tweet
Personal Interview
Podcast

Q: Wait, how do I know if it is common knowledge?

A: It's information that most people know or can easily find. Think of it as communal knowledge that isn't attributed to or owned by a particular person.

Lansing is the capital city of Michigan
George Washington was the first president of the United States

Where can I find good sources?

Use WCC Library Databases to find credible articles, books, background information and more! Just use your WCC Net ID and Password to login off campus.

Here are some databases that are great starting places for WTMC students:

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary coverage of newspapers, magazines, and journals.
General OneFile This link opens in a new window
Find general interest articles on current events, popular culture, business, sports, hobbies, and more in magazines, newspapers, and reference books
Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new window
The database brings together viewpoint articles, contextual topic overviews, government and organizational statistics, court cases, newspaper and magazines articles on social issues.
Science This link opens in a new window
200 full-text science journals, science reference titles, thousands of multimedia records, science glossary, as well as national and state science standards.
US History In Context This link opens in a new window
provides contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in U.S. History.

Use Google Advanced Search to browse Google search results more effectively.

Google Advanced Search
Use Google Advanced Search to limit your results by site or domain to .gov, .org, or .edu.

Research Activity

ChatGPT Transcript #1

1. Open the ChatGPT Transcript #1 Document.

2. Skim the transcript.

3. As a group, discuss what you think about the ChatGPT responses in relation to effective research and academic honesty.

4. Choose one of the citations recommended by ChatGPT and find the original article using either Google Scholar or WCC's Smart Search.

ChatGPT Transcript #2

1. Open the ChatGPT Transcript #2 Document.

2. Read the transcript.

3. In your group, discuss ChatGPT's responses to the prompts in connection to research as a process, how ChatGPT differs from a true search engine or database, and ChatGPT in the context of academic honesty.

4. In your group, search for articles on the topic of young adults and social skills in WCC's Smart Search or Google Scholar. Discuss how the results differ from the base of knowledge informing ChatGPT.