4 Conducting Credible Research

Take Notes

Remember: this is a lot of stuff to keep track off. We suggest jotting down notes as you go to keep everything straight. Your notes could be a pad of paper next to your laptop or a digital notepad – whatever works best for you. There are numerous free online applications and platforms that can also help you keep track of your notes and source content. Check in with your university library to see what experts in your area recommend or have available, too.

This may seem obvious, but it is often overlooked. Poor note taking or inaccurate notes can be devastating in the long-term. If you forget to write down all the source information, backtracking and trying to re-search to locate citation information is tedious, time-consuming, and inefficient. Without proper citations, your credibility will diminish. Keeping information without correct citations can have disastrous consequences – as discussed below.

Plagiarism

While issues of plagiarism are mostly present in written communication, the practice can also occur in oral communication and in communication studies courses. It can occur when speakers misattribute or fail to cite a source during a speech, or when they are preparing outlines or notecards to deliver their speeches and fail to cite sources.

According to the National Communication Association (NCA), “ethical communication enhances human worth and dignity by fostering truthfulness, fairness, responsibility, personal integrity, and respect for self and others” and truthfulness, accuracy, honesty, and reason as essential to the integrity of communication (“Credo for Ethical Communication,” 2017).  This would imply that through oral communication, there is an expectation that you will credit others with their original thoughts and ideas through citation. One important way that we speak ethically is to use material from others correctly. Occasionally we hear in the news media about a politician or leader who uses the words of other speakers without attribution or of scholars who use pages out of another scholar’s work without consent or citation.

But, why does it matter if a speaker or writer commits plagiarism? Why and how do we judge a speaker as ethical? Why, for example, do we value originality and correct citation of sources in public life as well as the academic world, especially in the United States? These are not new questions, and some of the answers lie in age-old philosophies of communication.

Although there are many ways that you could undermine your ethical stance before an audience, the one that stands out and is committed most commonly in academic contexts is plagiarism. A dictionary definition of plagiarism would be “the act of using another person’s words or ideas without giving credit to that person” (Merriam-Webster, 2015). Plagiarism is often thought of as “copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas” (“What is Plagiarism?”, 2014). Plagiarism also includes:

• Turning in someone else’s work as your own;
• Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit;
• Failing to put quotation marks around an exact quotation correctly;
• Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation;
• Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit;
• Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not.

Plagiarism exists outside of the classroom and is a temptation in business, creative endeavors, and politics. However, in the classroom, your instructor will probably take the most immediate action if he or she discovers your plagiarism either from personal experience or through using plagiarism detection (or what is also called “originality checking”) software.

In the business or professional world, plagiarism is never tolerated because using original work without permission (which usually includes paying fees to the author or artist) can end in serious legal action. So, you should always work to correctly provide credit for source information that you’re using.

Types of Plagiarism

There are many instances of speakers or authors presenting work they claim to be original and their own when it is not. Plagiarism is often done accidentally due to inexperience. To avoid this mistake, let’s work through two types of plagiarism: stealing and sneaking. Sometimes these types of plagiarism are intentional, and sometimes they occur unintentionally (you may not know you are plagiarizing). However, as everyone knows, “Ignorance of the law is not an excuse for breaking it.”

Stealing

No one wants to be the victim of theft; if it has ever happened to you, you know how awful it feels. When someone takes an essay, research paper, speech, or outline completely from another source, whether it is a classmate who submitted it for another instructor, from some sort of online essay writing service, or from elsewhere, this is an act of theft. The wrongness of the act is compounded when someone submits that work in its entirely and labels it as their own.

Most colleges and universities have a policy that penalizes or forbids “self-plagiarism.” This means that you can’t use a paper or outline that you presented in another class a second time. You may think, “How can this be plagiarism if the source is in my works cited page?” The main reason is that by submitting it to your instructor, you are still claiming it is original, first-time work for the assignment in that particular class. Your instructor may not mind if you use some of the same sources from the first time it was submitted, but he or she expects you to follow the instructions for the assignment and prepare an original assignment. In a sense, this situation is also a case of unfairness, since the other students do not have the advantage of having written the paper or outline already.

Sneaking

Instead of taking work as a whole from another source, an individual might copy two out of every three sentences and mix them up so they don’t appear in the same order as in the original work. Perhaps the individual will add a fresh introduction, a personal example or two, and an original conclusion. This kind of plagiarism is easy today due to the Internet and the word processing functions of cutting and pasting.  It also most often occurs when someone has waited too long to start a project and it seems easier to cut and paste portions of text than it is to read, understand, and synthesize information into their own words.

You might not view this as stealing, thinking, “I did some research. I looked some stuff up and added some of my own work.” Unfortunately, this is still plagiarism because no source was credited, and the individual “misappropriated” the expression of the ideas as well as the ideas themselves.

Avoiding Plagiarism

To avoid plagiarism, you must give credit to the words, research, or insights of others. When you’re integrating supporting research or using a key idea or theory, let the audience know! As you add research into your outline, you can either:

• Use direct quotes: this means that you’re including information from a source verbatim.
• Paraphrase: express the source’s idea but not verbatim.
• Summarize: explain the main ideas or arguments from the source’s findings.

Citing others will bolster your credibility because it demonstrates that you have in-depth knowledge about the topic.

In English classes, you’ve likely used style guides (like MLA or APA) to ethically cite research in an essay. Continue this practice. Regardless of how you’re integrating that research – verbatim or paraphrasing—the source reference should appear both in the writing and through an oral citation.

Source Documentation

Once you have found strong sources for your topic—whether through Google, your college library, or interviews—how do you properly and effectively credit them in your speech? We next answer this question by considering how to document your sources during a speech and in an associated bibliography. We will begin by explaining the importance of source documentation.

Better Safe Than Sorry

Whenever you get ideas from, directly quote, paraphrase, or summarize content from another source, cite your source. A citation provides a source’s basic identifying information, such as the four W’s we discuss in below “What to Cite: The Four W’s.”

Citing your sources strengthens your credibility because it reflects your competence (you did your homework) and trustworthiness (you are making clear what sources you consulted). In contrast, passing off someone else’s ideas as your own (i.e., not citing your sources) is an act of academic dishonesty and plagiarism. It is unethical to take credit for other people’s ideas or work. You will lose your audience’s and instructor’s trust. Furthermore, not citing your sources makes it more difficult for your audience to learn more about your topic and take action. By citing your sources, you provide them with a path forward to further education and advocacy.

Written and Verbal Citations

When preparing a public speech, keep in mind two types of citations: written and verbal. Written citations are written down, typically in the form of a bibliography (perhaps called a Works Cited or References)—much like you might provide with an essay you have written. Your instructor may require you to submit a written bibliography with your speech outline or manuscript. Alternatively, you may choose to provide your bibliography to a community group you are addressing so they can further pursue the topic you discuss.

Written citations should follow a style guide, or instructions for writing and formatting sources. Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA) both author style guides. Ask your instructor what style guide they prefer and consult Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (known as “Purdue OWL”) for help following it. Your library likely has access to both print and online style guides, and your reference librarians can help you with citation questions. Alternatively, free software such as Zotero may prove useful.

Speakers should also use verbal citations, because audiences don’t typically receive or read a bibliography, or they don’t see it (such as on a concluding visual aid) until after the speech is over. Consequently, speakers should use verbal citations, which are vocalized during the speech. They can be integrated anywhere into a speech: as part of the attention-getter, to establish the problem, to make a viable solution compelling, and so on. Wherever you include them, say the verbal citation prior to summarizing, paraphrasing, or quoting the source. Announcing the source first allows the audience to evaluate the information in light of its source.

What to Cite: The Four W’s

While specific requirements differ based on the exact type of source, most written and verbal citations need you to answer the four W’s: who, where, when, and what.

• Who created the source? That is, who is the author of the article, post, or book, or who did you interview?
• Where was it published? What is the title of the journal or website, for instance, where the article or blog can be found? Alternatively, how did you conduct the interview (by email or in person)?
• When was the source published or made available, or when did you talk with your interview subject?

Answering the three questions of “who,” “where,” and “when” is sufficient for an oral citation, but a fourth question—“what”—may also be necessary for a written citation in a bibliography.

• What is the name of the source? In other words, what is the title of the article, book chapter, or post? This is more specific than the publication (“where”).

Considerations Regarding Generative AI and Research

As you embark on the research process, you may be asking: what about artificial intelligence (AI)? Is that an information type? Is it a “source”?  To answer this question, we’ll focus primarily on generative AI tools, or tools that use “a machine-learning model that is trained to create new data” (Zewe, 2023, para. 4). You may be most familiar with Chat GPT – a generative AI tool created from Open AI – where you can prompt the tool to create content based on an algorithm that scans an enormous amount of data. As a student at UMD, you also have access TerpAI.

Box 4.5 TerpAI

 

According to AI @ UMD:

“TerpAI is a powerful GenAI tool designed to simplify your interactions with technology and enhance your daily tasks. Acting as your digital assistant, thought partner, and educational resource, TerpAI helps you manage projects and research topics and get quick answers with ease. It’s invaluable for students and educators, providing clarity on complex concepts and assisting with study guides and lesson plans. As a thought partner, TerpAI offers insights that improve decision-making, whether you’re brainstorming ideas or analyzing data. Seamlessly integrating into your existing digital environment, TerpAI is secure and reliable, ensuring your data is handled with the highest privacy standards. With TerpAI, you can work smarter, learn more effectively, and make confident decisions.”

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the University’s guidance on GenAI use.

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the research and writing process is a highly debated issue, and we understand why! Learning how to be an ethical and engaging public speaker requires that you learn how to engage, sort, and critically understand research to create original speeches that are written by and sound like you. If you over-rely on generative AI (Like Chat GPT) to compose the content of a speech, you’re missing out on a valuable part of the learning process. This means that, in your public speaking class, your instructor might completely prohibit the use of generative AI.

However, your instructor may allow some AI engagement. If you are integrating generative AI into your speech, it’s important to cite it. Remember that citations are a signal that you didn’t create the work, so integrating a citation for a piece of generative AI just makes sense! Otherwise, you are presenting information “as your own,” resulting in an unethical practice.

Many types of AI exist, but at its core, AI draws on, retrieves, and compiles scores of sources to produce content. The content is prompted by a user’s questions (while using an AI chatbot) or search terms (while using a search engine like Google). The output—such as the paragraphs an AI chatbot writes in response to your request or the images an AI text-to-image generator might produce—can make AI appear like a source. However, AI is not a source as we have defined it. It is not human, and it does not (yet) produce original communication as we—your authors—think of originality.

Instead, machine-learning AI uses algorithms that very quickly analyze existing data from myriad sources to find patterns—which is the compiling function—and then predict a useful or appropriate response. AI may assemble the predicted content in novel or unique ways, but it is based on the sources and data that AI draws on.

PCMag’s K. Thor Jensen explained the shortcomings of generative AI: “Computers aren’t capable of what we would consider original thought—they just recombine existing data in a variety of ways. That output might be novel and interesting, but it isn’t unique” (Jensen, 2023).

AI’s function as a robust compiler rather than a source helps explain why it tends to unreflectively repeat the dominant racist, sexist, and homophobic biases and stereotypes commonly found in existing sources (Olheiser, 2023; Tiku et al., 2023)—and why you are more likely to encounter factual errors when using generative AI. According to PCMag’s K. Thor Jensen, the datasets AI trains on become outdated and reflect societal biases.

Jensen also points to two additional factors for AI’s errors: the complexity of AI’s coding, which prevents our ability to trace the source of an inaccurate response to correct it, and AI’s requirement to produce a response to your query even if it does not have the answer.

Further, people can use AI to deliberately produce false videos or recordings of famous people, for instance, doing or saying things that never occurred. While many of these fakes are produced in good fun (like hearing Adele’s version of a Beatles’ song), the technology can easily be used more maliciously to trick audiences into believing falsehoods.

Therefore, we warn you to not rely on AI for your research. Not only is it a compiler rather than a source, but it also risks being inaccurate or used purposefully to deceive. Moreover, unlike traditional information types, the content that generative AI produces is not retrievable by your audience. In other words, if you cite a website, the audience can locate and look up that website to either verify your research or to learn more. But with generative AI, your audience can’t go back to the source and verify the information.

Having said that, AI can help you get started on a speech by functioning as a feedback tool. You might use AI to brainstorm arguments and counterpoints. It can also help you restate complex ideas more clearly and produce effective visual aids. If you want to use AI in any of these ways,

1. consult your instructor and/or librarian to discuss if and how you can use AI,
2. consider the ethical implications involved in doing so
3. explicitly acknowledge your use of AI by citing which tool you used and how
4. double-check any sources AI cites to ensure they actually exist and provide useful information, and
5. find additional sources and develop and synthesize the ideas you gain on your own.

AI Hallucinates Research Sources

As AI becomes more popular and powerful, students increasingly turn to chatbots for their research. As you probably already know, among the information that an AI chatbot can compile are research sources.

If you ask ChatGPT for “a list of specific sources about excessive waste management,” for example, it will provide five or so. The ease and efficiency of this service is terrific, but be careful! AI chatbots can “hallucinate,” or make up, sources that do not exist.

AI chatbots will get smarter with time and therefore should offer more accurate references and hallucinate less. Nonetheless, if you choose to use an AI chatbot to find research sources, it will always be your responsibility to (1) make sure the sources provided actually exist and (2) find the sources and read them. Research is the process of learning about a topic by discovering what credible sources have said, written, or recorded about it. Finding and documenting sources are means toward the end of that learning, not ends in themselves.

Citing the Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

You might be wondering: ok, but how do I cite a piece of text or an image that was AI generated? That depends on what citation style guide you’re using:

• APA: If you use APA, they’ve created a resource about citing generative AI, with a specific focus on Chat GPT. Generally, they recommend being transparent by disclosing where and how AI was used, using an in-text citation, and listing its use in your reference page. Here’s an example of how you would cite Chat GPT content in the outline of a speech  and in the reference page:
  • In the outline: “When given the prompt, ‘is generative AI a credible academic source?’ the Chat GPT generated text’s summarized its answer by noting that “while generative AI can produce text and other content, it is generally not considered a credible academic source on its own. However, it can be a tool to assist in research and creativity, and the outputs it generates can be used as a starting point for further investigation and verification” (OpenAI, 2024).
  • In the reference page: OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (June 26 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
• MLA: MLA includes similar suggestions in its current (2024) citation requirements and, like APA, suggests a) citing any generated content that is quoted or paraphrased, b) acknowledging how you used the tool (i.e. to translate), and c) vetting any source, fact, or insight generated.

Generative AI (and AI in general) are quickly impacting our learning environment, and these rules could change, too! In any case, make sure you are checking your syllabus, assignment descriptions, and following up with your instructor about their specific AI policy.