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BY 2001 - Botany (Bortnick)

Finding Research

Finding & Evaluating Sources

Economic Botany bridges the gap between pure and applied botany by focusing on the uses of plants by people.  Economic Botany is the relationship between plants and people around the world, encompassing the past, present, and potential uses of plants.

Interlibrary Loan

If a book or article you want is not available, use Interlibrary Loan (ILL). The Library can order books and articles from other libraries. This process takes few days but is completely free for DelVal students, faculty, and staff.

Before you submit an ILL, check Google Scholar or Summon to see if we have immediate access or if it is freely available online.

Intellectual Property

Peer Review

Your professors will often require you to use peer-reviewed articles. They are seen as the gold standard for research articles. Typically, it will go through the following process. 

  1. An article is written by an expert or team of experts based on original research they have conducted.

  2. The article is submitted to a panel of experts who will closely examine the research methods and findings.

  3. If the article is found to have contributed to the field, it is accepted for publication.

It is a long process, but it ensures that scientists and the public can be confident in the the results.

Checklist for Peer-Reviewed Research Article

  Did the author(s) of the article do the actual research?
  Can you find a statement about when the article was accepted for publication?
  Is there a sizable list of references?
  Do the authors assume you are familiar with their topic?
  Is it challenging to read?

If you have answered "yes" to these five questions you have probably located a scientific article.

Plagiarism and Common Knowledge

Plagiarism is the use of work without giving appropriate citation. You can also plagiarize yourself if using a paper you wrote for another class. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional.

Sometimes, information is so well known that it doesn't require a citation. For example, there are seven continents. Everyone accepts this fact so it is considered common knowledge. 

If you have to question whether you should or shouldn't cite a source, cite it!

Chicago Author-Date Paraphrasing and In-Text Citations

Paraphrasing
When the author's name appears in the sentence, it does not need to be repeated in the citation.

Example:
Recent literature has examined long-run price drifts following initial public offerings and other factors (Ritter 1991). Fisher (2009) reaches more or less the same conclusion.


Quotations

Example:
Several studies have shown that "F. oxysporum isolates collected as nonpathogenic or pathogenic to other hosts that have very similar or identical elongation factor 1α and mitochondrial small subunit genotypes as banana pathogens were shown to cause little or no disease on banana" (O'Donnell 1998, 2044).

More than one author 
(Smith and Johnson 1998, 14) 
(Smith, Johnson, and White 2001, 42)

More than three authors
(Smith et al. 1998, 203)

No author
(Plagiarism and You 2002, 142) 

Chicago Author-Date Journal Articles

Last name, first name. Year. "Article Title." Journal volume (issue, if available): pages. URL or DOI. 

Example:
Novak, William J. 2008. "The Myth of the 'Weak' American State." American Historical Review 113:752-72. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752

Journal article with multiple authors
Include all authors, regardless of number, in the References List.

Last name, first name, and First name Last name. Year. "Article Title." Journal volume (issue, if available): pages. URL, if no DOI available. 

Example:
Choi, Stephen J., and G. Mitu Gulati. 2008. "Bias in Judicial Citations: A Window into the Behavior of Judges?" Journal of Legal Studies 37 (1): 87-129. doi:10.1086/588263.

RefWorks

RefWorks

RefWorks is a new way to collect, manage, and organize research.  You can read, annotate, organize, and cite your research as well as collaborate by sharing collections.

From simple bibliographies to papers formatted with in-text citations or footnotes, RefWorks handles it all. ​To learn more about RefWorks, use our RefWorks research guide.

To create a RefWorks account:

  1. Go to the link below and click Create account
  2. Fill in your information, making sure to use your DelVal email address.  
  3. Go to your inbox and click the email link to complete the activation process. 

Already have an account? Just go to the link below and click "Log In"

Chicago 17th Edition (Author-Date System)

Make sure to select Chicago 17th Edition (Author-Date System) from the options in RefWorks. There are many versions of Chicaog and this is the most recent. 

In-Text Citations

Paraphrasing
When the author's name appears in the sentence, it does not need to be repeated in the citation.

Example:
Recent literature has examined long-run price drifts following initial public offerings and other factors (Ritter 1991). Fisher (2009) reaches more or less the same conclusion.


Quotations

Example:
Several studies have shown that "F. oxysporum isolates collected as nonpathogenic or pathogenic to other hosts that have very similar or identical elongation factor 1α and mitochondrial small subunit genotypes as banana pathogens were shown to cause little or no disease on banana" (O'Donnell 1998, 2044).

More than one author 
(Smith and Johnson 1998, 14) 
(Smith, Johnson, and White 2001, 42)

More than three authors
(Smith et al. 1998, 203)

No author
(Plagiarism and You 2002, 142) 

Journal Articles

Last name, first name. Year. "Article Title." Journal volume (issue, if available): pages. URL or DOI. 

Example:
Novak, William J. 2008. "The Myth of the 'Weak' American State." American Historical Review 113:752-72. doi:10.1086/ahr.113.3.752

Journal article with multiple authors
Include all authors, regardless of number, in the References List.

Last name, first name, and First name Last name. Year. "Article Title." Journal volume (issue, if available): pages. URL, if no DOI available. 

Example:
Choi, Stephen J., and G. Mitu Gulati. 2008. "Bias in Judicial Citations: A Window into the Behavior of Judges?" Journal of Legal Studies 37 (1): 87-129. doi:10.1086/588263.

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