Research Checklist

STEP 1: Choose a Topic
STEP 2: Find Resources
STEP 3: Evaluate Information
STEP 4: Compose an Assignment
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Start composing your assignment once enough information has been gathered. Use an appropriate writing style for your audience and purpose of paper. Proofread your paper to check for spelling and other types of errors. Make sure your paper follows assignment requirements. FAU students can consult the University Center for Excellent Writing before handing in their assignment.

Here are some additional points to follow when writing your assignment:

Use a Style Guide.

An assignment may need to be prepared, written and presented using certain style rules. Refer to your course syllabus, assignment notes, or class handouts for specific instructions. The most commonly used styles used at FAU are current editions of the following:

• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, by the American Psychological Association.
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, by the Modern Language Association.

Refer to your assigned style guide to see rules on margins, organization, and most importantly, the works cited page. The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University has a good online guide to APA style, and also one on MLA style.

Cite Your Sources.

To create a bibliography, refer to your research log, note cards, or RefWorks account.  This list should include journal articles, books, web sites, and other materials used for your assignment. Use the assigned style guide for instructions on citing sources.

Citing sources is one of the most important steps in an assignment. This provides credit to an original author for their work. In addition, your professor will be able to see where your information was found by looking at your sources.

Avoid Plagiarism.

Plagiarism is considered stealing or cheating!  Plagiarism is the act of copying, paraphrasing or using someone else’s words or ideas as your own without giving appropriate credit to the person. Using common, everyday knowledge and facts in your paper, without citations, is not a form of plagiarism (example: Tallahassee is the capital of Florida).

Some examples of plagiarism include, but are not limited to: 

• Copying a direct quotation without using quotation marks around the information
• Submitting incorrect citation information for words or ideas that are not one’s own
• Copying someone else's assignment, or sections of it, and submitting it as one’s own
• Copying or reusing your own work done for a different class and without proper citation

FAU outlines how it handles plagiarism in its Honor Code for students, and each FAU academic unit expands on it. Students accused of plagiarism may get a bad grade, receive a failing grade for a course, or face suspension or expulsion.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite all sources of information! Cite where your information was found within the body of your paper and in the works cited page.

STEP 3: Evaluate Information

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