BUS 360: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Shane Plante Business Librarian, SFU Surrey

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

The research process: a) Choose a research question (done for you!) b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions (partly done for you  questions to think about for your report) c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

Who might publish the information you want?

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

BUS 360 wiki (in process)

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

Scholarly vs. popular publications REVIEW:  Which is scholarly?  How do you know?

List 3-4 points that help to identify scholarly articles Academic journalsAny information

 Reliability  Bibliography + methodology = documentation  Author info = authority  Length/language = completeness + purpose

Reliability  When you cite a scholarly article, you seldom need to evaluate the article’s reliability.  The peer review process does most of the work for you. Bonus question: What does “peer-reviewed” mean?

Information quality For your report, you may have difficulty finding useful scholarly articles, so you will have to evaluate every fact and opinion that you find.

Information quality: The “3 Rs”  Reliability Is the source credible?  Recency How current is the information?  Relevance Does it apply to your topic?

Relevance Transferability:  How well does the information you've found transfer to your case?  Geography Example: Is the study you’ve found from Japan still relevant to your topic?  Industry Example: Is the industry you have found information for relevant to the one you are focusing on?

Relevance Scalability:  How well does the scale of the information you've found apply to your case?  Example: Is information about Starbucks relevant to a small coffee shop in Surrey?

Information quality  Remember: Decisions will be made based on the report and recommendations that you deliver.  You might not find many facts/opinions that meet the 3Rs perfectly. Try to anticipate (and answer) the questions that your audience will have about the information you’ve included. If you notice something, assume that they will notice it. If it’s relevant, briefly explain your rationale for including it.

Evaluating an article excerpt  Evaluate the reliability (including the authority, documentation, completeness, and purpose) of the article excerpt on your handout, “Checking 101; How you introduce bodychecking to minor hockey players … ”

The research process: a) Choose a research question b) Think of some sub-questions c) Identify likely publishers d) Search and cycle your search e) Evaluate your results f) Write your report

Write your paper & cite your sources

APA guides and plagiarism tutorial APA guides Plagiarism tutorial

Writing and avoiding plagiarism  If you don’t know how to correctly cite a document, feel free to ask a librarian for help.  If you want help with writing/structuring your paper or quoting/paraphrasing documents, see the Student Learning Commons. Student Learning Commons Workshops One-to-one appointments Drop-in consultations

Is this plagiarism? Direct quotation: “When a significant violation of public trust has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838). Student A’s paper: If a serious violation of public trust occurs, lying is often the result because this action invites concealment (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Is this plagiarism? Direct quotation: “When a significant violation of public trust has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838). Student A’s paper: If a serious violation of public trust occurs, lying is often the result because this action invites concealment (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Is this plagiarism? Direct quotation: “When a significant violation of public trust has occurred, lying is a common corollary because the wrongdoing invites concealment” (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008, p. 838). Student B’s paper: Organizations often feel compelled to lie about their actions when they are discovered to have taken advantage of the public (Fleming & Zyglidopoulos, 2008).

Avoiding plagiarism  If you include any ideas or sentences in your paper that come from elsewhere (e.g., articles, books, websites), you need to acknowledge those sources.  Citing a document incorrectly is always better than not citing it.  Leave yourself time to cite your sources.

Getting help

Getting Help  Ask anyone at the reference desk in any of the three campus libraries  Use our Ask a Librarian services (via the Library home page) to contact a librarian (by phone, IM, or ).Ask a Librarian  Contact : Shane Plante Class? Due Date? Where have you searched? How have you searched? Found anything close to what you need? (I’ll typically be on campus Tuesdays to Fridays.)