The Importance of Research and Publication

The Importance of Research and Publication

Writers involved in a discourse community should follow a policy of the importance of inclusion of citations to avoid plagiarism and they should consider the possibility of publishing. Undertaking a research project for any science is by no means an easy task. Apart from the challenges of designing and conducting an investigation, researchers should consider writing a research paper (RP) and publishing their results. Furthermore, so as to do this effectively, they ought to take into account rules and academic conventions. Particularly relevant among these is the importance of avoiding plagiarism. In this paper, the relevance of publication and appropriate citation of sources will be examined, considering the benefits they bring to the discourse community.

Regardless the type of research conducted and its objectives, either finding a solution to a problem or creating new knowledge, being published should be a final aim for researchers. Sharing results and recently acquired perspectives on a certain topic in a publication such as a journal entails reaching out to other professionals and making the results of the investigation available. Not only that, their RP may also create opportunities for further research by other investigators who may have also been asking themselves similar questions.

Nonetheless, those investigators who decide to delve into research need to consider a number of academic conventions for their RP. Of great concern is to adhere to a school of citation such as the American Psychological Association (APA) when acknowledging sources, in order to avoid plagiarism. For instance, according to its official website, “APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers” (Paiz et. al., 2011). Following them to the letter will ensure that proper credit is given to the sources used in parts of the RP such as the Literary Review section, and that there are no instances of plagiarism that may undermine the scientific value of the knowledge produced by the investigators.

Complex as this task may seem, there are far more rewards than punishments in conducting one’s research. Not only do researchers grow as professionals in this process, but also the scientific community to which they belong grows along with them. Being aware of conventions and respecting them in the stage of publication means respecting this community and their members.

References

Paiz, J., Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A., & Keck, R. (2011, October 28). In-text citation: Author/Authors. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/