LibGuides: Creating Effective Research Assignments: A Guide for Faculty: Source Integration

Source Integration: Common Problems

3 (best)	2	1	0 (worst)
Sources are integrated into student’s own discussion of the topic and most points are supported by multiple sources	Sources are partially integrated into student’s own discussion and some points are supported by multiple sources	Sources are present in paper but not integrated into the student’s discussion	Sources not present in student discussion of the topic

What you're seeing:

The student relies too heavily on only one or two sources
Each point a student makes is supported by only one source
Quotations are strung together with little discussion by the student
You get the feeling that a student wrote the paper and then went back to "find quotes" to plug in after the fact
Students are not including sources at all and are instead offering only their own opinion or knowledge

Improving Source Integration

Include a link to the "Incorporating Sources" page of the SHU Writing Center's website in your assignment prompt.
- This helpful resource provides students with information about incorporating source information through methods such as summaries, paraphrases, and quotations, and also has useful links to resources on citation styles such as MLA and APA:
  - Incorporating Sources -- SHU Writing Center
Have an introductory assignment or activity that requires students to create a citation map.
- Citation mapping activities can help students to understand the relationships between sources and concepts, and to understand the concept of scholarly conversation. By examining the way these sources relate to one another, especially those that serve to support the same thesis, students can gain an understanding of the way multiple related sources can be used to develop and support their views. You can have students examine a literature review or a pre-selected group of sources (such as scholarly articles) and map how the sources reference one another. Citation trackers like those found on Google Scholar can also be used to create a list of related articles.
- A brief version of this type of activity might require students to find an article on a chosen topic, then find an article that either cites that first article, or is cited by that first article. Students would then be required to summarize the two articles and describe their relationship to one another in that topical area.
- You may find it useful to adapt an assignment like this one, created for a course on religious studies:
  - Citation Mapping for Religious Studies
Require students to complete a literature review as part of their assignment.
- Literature reviews can help students to understand relationships between sources and ideas. Consider providing a “literature review template” or “skeleton literature review” so students understand how to construct a literature review in your field. See our "Literature Review" guide for more tools.

Require students to complete an annotated bibliography before the final draft is due.
- Annotated bibliographies allow students to describe not only the various types of information sources they are using, but also to compare and contrast those sources and understand how they relate to each other and the topic as a whole. This can help them to see connections between similar sources, and to better conceptualize how to incorporate information from each source into the final project. You can find helpful information about annotated bibliographies at the following links: