Plagiarism assignment

Part 1: Complete Indiana University’s “How to Recognize Plagiarism” tutorial and certification test at : https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/. Once you have passed the test, a certificate will be sent to the email account you used when registering for the test. You will need to submit a copy of your completion certificate as part of your assignment . This is best done in PDF format or by taking a screenshot and converting it into a jpeg.

NOTE: The plagiarism test is NOT an easy test. The length and questions of the test will vary with each attempt. You may need to take the test more than once to earn a certificate. For these reasons, you are encouraged to complete the tutorial before attempting the test and consider completing at least one practice test to receive feedback on your performance before attempting the certification test. You may re-take the certification test as many times as you need to earn a certificate.

After earning your certificate, please write a brief description (100 words or less) of what you learned about plagiarism and how to avoid it. Your description should demonstrate your understanding of what constitutes plagiarism as well as specific information about how to avoid plagiarism.

Part 2: Choose a psychological topic that interests you and use ProQuest PsycINFO to search for recent peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic. ( Use the PowerPoint tutorial posted in Blackboard to learn how to navigate the ProQuest PsycINFO database through the WSU library system. ) The database can help you find a variety of resource material (e.g., books, dissertation abstracts, articles published in non-peer-reviewed journals, etc.), but you should limit your search to articles from peer-reviewed journals. Spend some time trying the different search and limit options within PsycINFO. Take notes as you search to keep track of your process and steps.

Select one article on your topic that is relevant to your interests and find that article at WSU. Once located, obtain a PDF of the full article. You will need to provide a copy of it with your assignment.

Once you have selected and accessed your article, look at the reference list at the end of the article. The reference list includes information about every source cited in an article. This is often a useful strategy for finding addition references about your topic. Use the PsychINFO database and/or the WSU Citation Linker Service to access one of the articles listed in the reference list. Again, take notes on your process. You do not need to turn in a copy of this second article, but you will need the reference information and information about where it can be found through the WSU library.

Write up a brief description (1 paragraph) of your search process for the first article, including identification and explanation of your initial psychological topic, the key terms you used in your search, how you limited the search, how many options you found, how limiting the search changed the number of options, etc., and how you selected the specific article. You should also briefly describe the process you used to find one of the articles from the reference list of the first article. Be sure to include where to find a hard copy at WSU.

Read the journal article and briefly describe how this article contributes to your understanding of the topic you chose. Make sure to use your own words (DO NOT copy directly from the article). Properly cite the article using in-text citations in your write-up.

Finally, provide complete reference information for both articles, in proper APA editorial style. A tutorial PowerPoint presentation about APA reference and citation formats (adapted from the Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology) and an APA Referencing Handout are provided in Blackboard to help you. You may also consult the library and the WSU Writing Center. Finally, the Purdue Online Writing Center (OWL) is an excellent online resource on APA editorial style. It can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.

THE CRITERIA:

Review the grading criteria for this assignment on the attached grading rubric (see page 3) to understand what you need to address in your case study to earn points on this assignment.

Your Completed Assignment MUST Include:

1) A certificate indicating completion of the plagiarism test. It may be in PDF format or a screen shot (jpeg).

2) A 2 page (12 point font) write-up for Parts 1 & 2 (see below), including the URL for the

plagiarism site and complete references (in-text and in a Reference list) for your TWO articles presented

in APA editorial style.

(See APA Referencing Handout and tutorial posted in Blackboard for guidance on APA editorial style.)

3) A copy of the article from your initial search in Part 2. (NOTE: Attach the entire article,

NOT just the abstract!). It should be in PDF format.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:

Intellectual honesty is an important aspect of the scientific process. Plagiarism threatens intellectual honesty. It also violates WSU Academic Integrity standards. Part I of this assignment is designed to help you better understand what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it – both of which are critical to mastering information literacy.

Another important part of the scientific process involves finding and reading existing research on a topic of interest. Part 2 of this assignment will introduce you to the PsycINFO databased and how you can use it to search for peer-reviewed articles in psychology journals. Being able to locate credible source material is another important aspect of information literacy.

REMEMBER: Your write-up should consist of complete, understandable sentences with proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Carefully proof-read your paper before submitting it to avoid losing points.

NOTE: Assignments submitted more than 3 days past their deadline will not be accepted.

Academic Integrity: Any student caught plagiarizing this assignment will receive an F for the assignment and will be formally reported to the Office of Student Conduct.

THE GRADING RUBRIC

MECHANICS & STYLE (20% = 5 points) ____/5 pts

1) Are there 3 or more errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation? If so, -2 pts

2) Are sentences logically related to one another? If not … -1 pt

3) Is the paper’s overall organization consistent and logical? If not . . . -2 pts

APA FORMAT (16% = 4 points)

1) Are the in-text citations in APA Format? ____/2 pts

Only 1-2 errors -1 pt

3 or more errors -2 pts

2) Are the references on Reference page in APA format? ____/2 pts

Only 1-2 errors -1 pt

3 or more errors -2 pts

NOTE: Failure to include citations for references in your assignment is considered plagiarism so

please be sure to cite all resources you use.

CONTENT (64% = 16 points)

PART 1:

Certificate confirms plagiarism test was taken and passed. ____/2 pts

Write-up (i.e., explains what the student learned about plagiarism and how to avoid it). ____/4 pts PART 2:

A copy of the article found in PsycINFO. ____ 1 pt

A complete description of search process for the article. ____/3 pts

A complete summary of article describing how it contributes to one's understanding of ____/3 pts

the topic.

Complete description of the search process for finding ONE article from the reference list. ____/3 pts

Was the assignment late? _________

(2 pt deduction per/day including the due date if assignment was submitted after the beginning of class)

FINAL GRADE (Mechanics/Style + Format + Content minus any late deductions): _______/25 points

Overall Comments: