Survival Guide for Online College - Essay Example

First, an individual can go directly to the site he wants to visit by typing the url address in the address bar. A researcher can also find a lot of interesting facts by browsing different websites which offers information on a single topic. Next, explore a subject directory. In general, there are two basic types of directories: "academic and professional directories often created and maintained by subject experts to support the needs of researchers, and directories featured on commercial portals that cater to the general public and are competing for traffic.

" While Infomine is a good academic subject directory, Yahoo is a famous commercial portal. A researcher can also make use of search engines in order to find the needed information. Recommended search engines include Google, Ask.com, Yahoo, MSN, and Ixquick. As there are a lot of materials in the internet, quality of research can be enhanced by querying a service solely devoted to digitized scholarly materials or books. Though these have not become prevalent, a good starting point is to use Google Scholar and Windows Live Academic.

Other methods which can be used in exploring the "deep Web" which are not shown in search engine searches. The sites in the "deep Web" usually deal with specialized knowledge and can be a good source of information. Joining an email or discussion group will also contribute in finding information as one can ask other people on a wealth of topics. . It should be noted that some information on the internet are outdated, developed by an amateur, or even false. Information on the internet should be evaluated thoroughly in order to produce a quality output.

Upholding Academic Honesty Academic honesty is imperative in upholding the integrity of an educational institution. Thus, each student is expected to uphold the rules and regulations mandated by a college or university. Cheating and academic misconduct is detrimental to both parties. Educational institutions are misled and students rob themselves of the precious opportunity to learn. The first step in upholding academic honesty is an understanding the policies of educational institutions on academic honesty and misconducts.

The knowledge of what is academically acceptable and unacceptable should be a guiding principle for each student. This section will list some of the common misconducts that a student should avoid. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited to all educational institution. Plagiarism can be in a lot of form-using another writer's word, idea, argument, phrases or sentences without proper citation, borrowing a part or the whole outline of a person's paper to write your own, and employing a paper writing service or a friend for a paper (University of Washington 2004).

Misconducts are also usually associated with cheating. Students cheat when they use crib sheets, supplementary notes, or comparable aids during an examination without the approval of a professor. Communication with another student during quizzes and examinations are also not allowed. Other misconducts include: forging, changing, and altering academic records; multiple submissions; falsification of data