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got him in a headlock.” Instead, an officer would choose factual,
unemotional words, such as “The subject attempted to escape and
was restrained.”
In addition to a particular format, each documentation style requires a
list of sources. The list of sources is an important part of your research
paper. Ideas are the currency of the academic community, and a list of
references in a standardized style makes it easier to share those
ideas. You list sources so that other researchers in your field can go
back to the original sources, read them, and form their own
conclusions.
Using Online Sources
You will probably do much of your research on the Internet through
various academic databases. Accessing online sources allows you to
search beyond the print holdings of your college’s library. It also
allows you the convenience of researching from a remote location
through your college library’s website.
Documenting online sources is more complex than documenting print
sources. The content of a print source will not change, but online
sources often change and evolve. When a website is updated, its
previous content may disappear forever. A site may move to a new
server and change its Web address entirely, or a library may drop its
subscription to one database and pick up another. Because of these
