HDFS 411: Inclusive Curriculum and Assessment: Infants and Toddlers

Plagiarism and synthesis are two intimately related concepts. It can be easy to plagiarize when you summarize articles instead of synthesizing the information you read into your own argument. When learning to synthesize, it's good to think of your research in steps.

1. Identify articles related to your topic
2. Read the articles and highlight them or take notes 
3. Organize your notes into an outline that is grouped by ideas rather than articles. You should have multiple references in each section of your outline
4. Write your paper or assignment from your outline rather than directly from articles.

Many citation management software options allow you to take notes on an article, but not break those notes up by concept. One method I've used is taking notes in an excel document, adding a code for each section of my outline, then sorting the spreadsheet A-Z on that column. You can take a look at my excel document as an example. There are lots of ways you can work on synthesizing your research. Feel free to experiment until you find a way that works with your writing process!

Citation managers store, organize, and format citations for papers and bibliographies in a variety of output styles such as APA or MLA.  Many citation managers include features such as allowing users to annotate a citation, attach a PDF to the citation, collaborate with others, or create in-text citations.  The four most commonly used citation manager programs at the University of Delaware are:

RefWorks

The University of Delaware Library has a subscription to RefWorks.   Users can create multiple accounts, which are easy to share among research groups and with class project teammates.  Undergraduates will find this tool generally easy to use. A strong Write-N-Cite component is available for use when writing a paper.  Graduate students will find the organizational options in RefWorks an aid in the research and writing process.  Faculty may find the ease of sharing bibliographies with students an advantage of RefWorks.

EndNote online with the Web of Science

EndNote online is built into Web of Science and is especially easy to use with this database.  EndNote is a rather sophisticated citation manager and offers a large number of citation formats and options.  The capabilities of the purchased EndNote software that is loaded on one's computer differ from those of the web product provided by the Library. EndNote features comparison chart.

Zotero

Zotero is a free, easy to use, open source citation manager available on the web.  Many users like Zotero because of its simple integration into the browser and its ability to add PDFs, images, audio and video files, and snapshots of web page with a single click.

Mendeley

Mendeley is also free on the web.  The social networking capabilities are a major attraction of this citation management software.