Effective Research and
Integration Techniques
 The
Search
 The
Selection
 The
Appropriation (Quotations,
Paraphrase, and Summary)
 The
Integration
When searching for references, use all
means available. Avoid the habit of
sticking to one easy path (e.g. Google
scholar).
Remember: Although Google is a smarter
search engine than some of the engines
used through the Ryerson Library site, it
is more work to sift through its results in
order to find usable, relevant, scholarly
Some Search Avenues:
a) Google (http://www.google.ca/)
 b) Google: Scholar (http://scholar.google.ca/)
 c) Ryerson University Library: Catalogue
(http://catalogue.library.ryerson.ca/)
 d) Ryerson University Library: Articles and
Indexes
(http://www.ryerson.ca/library/indexes.html
)
 e) Ryerson University Library: Research Help
(http://www.ryerson.ca/library/guides.html)

Search Tips:
 Search
terms
1)
Boolean Logic
2)
Multiple Concepts
More Search Tips:
 Check
reference lists for further
suggestions.
 Adapt
to the information you
find. Searching can change, and/or
narrow down your original topic. Be
open-minded to this process.
Now that you have a list of possible
references, highlight the ones you deem
most appropriate. Here are some ways to
discern the more appropriate from the
less appropriate:
 Relevancy
(skim the reference; does the
title, abstract, headings, topic sentences,
conclusion, and references deal
specifically with your topic?)
 Scholarly
merit (is the journal peerreviewed? published by a
university? contemporary? does it have
references? an author(s)?)
 Practicability
(does it pertain
specifically to the field of nursing? is the
author a nurse? is the journal a nursing
journal, or the website a nursing
website?)
 Interest
(do the references you choose
add to the topic, or simply restate
information from class? Are all your
resources course texts? Which
references might impress your
reader? Which references provide
theoretical innovation, or allow you to
move in that direction?)
Note: Number of References (a good rule
is to have approximately the same
number of references as you have pages
in your paper)
There are four main ways to include
information from references:
1) Direct
Quotation
2) Paraphrase
3) Summary
AVOID OVER OR UNDER USE OF
REFERENCES !
A good rule would be 1-3 per page.
 Direct
Quotation
Note: AVOID DIRECT QUOTATION. If you
must quote directly, do so only once per
paper, and only when the wording of the
original author is so masterful, perfect, or
incredibly life altering, that it would be a
crime not to include it.
Quotation: When quoting directly from a
text, you include the original author’s
words without alteration.
There are short quotes-under 40 words,
embedded in the text, and long quotesover 40 words, separated from the text.
Which one do you think is more
appropriate?
Examples:
 Short
quote:
Hunter, Ventura, and Kearns suggest that,
“nursing centers or nurse-managed
centers were traditionally established to
improve access to health care” (87).
Long quote:
 The
labor costs related to comprehensive
data systems included 25% of the project
director’s salary and fringe benefits, 20% of
all clerical staffs’ salary and fringe benefits,
and the research assistants’ and research
aides’ salaries and fringe benefits when
they were directly attributable to the
research grant. (Hunter, Ventura, and Kearns,
88)
 Paraphrasing: the
process of restating
information in different words; the
original meaning is maintained, but in
one’s own words. A paraphrase includes
details, and may even be as long, or
longer, than the original phrasing. To
paraphrase, use synonyms, change order
of words, or use different grammar.
 Student Tips
for Successful
Paraphrasing
From:
http://www.landmarkoutreach.org/docu
ments/SeditaSummarizing.pdf
*
Know how to choose and use a
dictionary and a thesaurus:
Choose editions which are appropriate to
your reading level and which have font
styles and sizes that are easy to read. This
includes dictionary and thesaurus
features incorporated in word-processing
software.
*
Understand the context of what you are
paraphrasing:
Read the whole sentence or several
sentences of the passage to have at least
a general understanding of the context in
which words are being used. Make sure
that the synonyms you use in your
paraphrased version do not change the
meaning of the passage.
*
Use “semantic” paraphrasing:
Use a thesaurus and/or your own
knowledge to replace words in the
passage with accurate synonyms. Be sure
to check the part of speech of the word
you are replacing. How a synonym is
used can change the meaning of the
word or sentence.
*
Use “syntactic” paraphrasing:
In addition to replacing key words, change
the structure of the original sentences by
either inverting the order of sentence
parts, breaking them into shorter
sentences, or combining simple
sentences into compound and complex
sentences.
*
Rewrite the paraphrased version:
Combine the various changes noted above
and rewrite the passage in your own
words. Never have more than three
consecutive words from the original
work. 
Summarizing: A summary is an overview
of the main ideas of a text. Unlike the
detailed, close reading of the paraphrase,
a summary is much shorter than the
original material and can be used to
relate general information from whole
texts.
How to Write a Summary
 From:
http://www.landmarkoutreach.org/docu
ments/SeditaSummarizing.pdf
1) Read the material
2) Distinguish the main ideas from the details
3) List the main ideas in your own words and
in sentence or phrase form
4) The order in which you read the main ideas
is not always the best order for the summary
5) When refining the summary-paragraph,
use transitional words and a topic sentence
Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries
all must be properly integrated into the
paper, both grammatically and
structurally.
Grammatical Integration:
 APA
tells us how to integrate information
(e.g. all citations require author(s), year, and
page number if possible; short quotes need
quotation marks, and when quoting a quotewithin-a quote, or a secondary author within
the primary text, use: primary author, year,
quoted in secondary author, year-only
primary author needs to be referenced on
the reference page).
 References
need to also be integrated
into full sentences; quotes can’t stand
alone as sentences! Paraphrases need to
adhere to proper grammatical rules.
 Structural
integration:
 Always introduce/contextual references,
and comment on them afterwards. Not
only should referenced material be
‘surrounded’ with your own words, ideas,
applications, and interpretations,
but when paraphrasing, integrate the
information you are bringing into your
paper with your own analysis and topic.
 Do
not just transplant references into
the paper!
 Your
references should be an integral
part of the paper’s structure. In fact, your
references should dictate the structure of
your paper and not only support your
argument, but steer the direction of your
paper. BUT….
The Integration: Structurally
 References
should not speak for you!
 If
you’re having problems integrating
references structurally, write the next
paper ‘backwards’:
1) research: choose references
2) analyze references (one per paragraph)
3) choose topic based on what you’ve
researched and how you’ve integrated
this information
4) write thesis statement