The one of the most important things to keep in mind when writing a research paper is to AVOID PLAGIARISM! Plagiarism can be DELIBERATE or UNINTENTIONAL so be careful how you use the the resources you have gathered during the research process.
Take OWNERSHIP of your research project and consider it an opportunity to learn and grow academically or otherwise. Research a topic you are interested in or are passionate about! Doing research CAN be rewarding!
Any time you use a quote, summarize, paraphrase or in any way refer to works created by other authors, you must provide an appropriate citation within your research paper as well as a separate comprehensive Reference (APA) or Works Cited (MLA) page listing all sources used in your work.
There are different citation styles or formats used by authors for their research, such as MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association).
Although MLA format is typically within most diciplines within the liberal arts, always consult your syllabus or ask your instructor to find out which format you need to use to cite your sources.
This guide will provide you with some library resources as well as online websites to help you cite it right!
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, "plagiarism is the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one's own. The fraudulence is closely related to forgery and piracy—practices generally in violation of copyright laws."
It is considered plagiarism when you use another author's work and do not provide a citation or give credit otherwise!
Below is a list of reference books located within the MCTC Libraries to help you properly cite your resources.
MLA Handbook by 
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by 
Doing Honest Work in College by 
Writing the Research Paper by Plagiarism can be DELIBERATE or UNINTENTIONAL. Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you MUST acknowledge their source to give the author/creator credit and to respect their intellectual property!
The following situations almost always require citation:
--excerpt from Plagiarism.org
For more help understanding plagiarism and citation for research papers, consult the library's Citation Guide.
If you need help, contact us through our library staff contact form.
You may also visit our FAQ page to see if you can find the answer to a question!
To reach library staff at each campus, use the following telephone numbers:
Maysville Campus: (606)301-6206 or (606)301-6190
Rowan Campus: (606)780-6366
Licking Valley Campus: (859)569-4755
Montgomery Campus: (859)274-9642
Hours of operation vary at each campus library. Check library hours here.
If you would like to schedule an appointment to meet with a librarian for a research assignment, click on the link below!
Our library resources are available online 24/7 for your use! Having a problem accessing the library databases? Go to the Off-Campus Instructions library guide.
NOTE: Students may see a login error when accessing electronic library resources. This error is generally caused either by an expired authentication token or a prior sign-in attempt in progress. To avoid this error, you can close the browser and reopen it in a "private" or "incognito" window. You may also fix this problem by going to your browser settings to the search history and clear/delete the data from websites you have visited and clear the cookies saved in the history. Then, close the browser and reopen it.