Finding Books

MacArthur High School Library Catalog - Search the OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) for books in your school library.

Levittown Public Library - Search for books through ALISCAT (Nassau County Public Library System Catalog).

Finding Articles

MacArthur High School Library Databases - Use databases to locate full text documents. (See librarian for home access password).

Levittown Public Library Databases - Use databases to locate full text documents. (You must be a valid cardholder).

Finding Information On The Internet

Google Search Strategies - How to use Google with +, -, OR, and other operators when conducting Internet searches.

Citing Sources

Citing Sources - You must cite sources you use for your paper using the MLA style. The MLA Handbook For Writers Of Research Papers is available for use in your school Literacy Center. All databases provide research and citation help. When researching in a database use the following tools for additional help: Related Subjects, Research Tools, How To Cite, and Source Citation.

Copyright Guidelines

Copyright - refers to a Federal law that protects work created by you or anyone else from being copied, changed or used without permission. Fair Use refers to a set of rules that allows you to use parts of copyrighted works for educational purposes without getting permission.

Plagiarism

Paraphrasing - Put ideas into your own word. When you use someone else's words or ideas and pass them off as your own you are committing plagiarism. In a research paper you have to come up with your own original ideas while at the same time using work that's already been done by others. Confusion about citing sources often leads to plagiarism. Ask yourself the following:

• Did I cite all the sources I used?
• When I used sentences just as they were in the source, did I use quotation marks?
• When I summarized ideas in my own words, did I remember to give credit to the original source?