Research and

Support
Material
Chapters 5 and 6
 Objectives

• Identify the major sources of information, the criteria to use in evaluating research, and some of the guidelines for
integrating research into your speech.
• Define plagiarism, the reasons plagiarism is unacceptable, and the suggestions for avoiding plagiarism.
• Define, examples, illustrations, and narratives and explain the guidelines for using this type of support.
• Define and distinguish between figurative, and literal analogies and identify the guidelines for using analogies.
• Identify the various types of definitions and the guidelines for using them in a public speech.
• Define testimony and identify the guidelines for using this form of support.
• Explain the types of numerical data that may be useful in a public speech and the guidelines for using such support.
• Explain the usefulness of quotations, compare/contrast, facts, and repetition and restatement.
Research and
Plagiarism
Chapter 5
Research

Research makes you appear more believable and helps support your major ideas
• Research for specifics
• Research to discover what is known
• Research to support a position
Sources of Information

• Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources

• Primary sources are firsthand, contemporary accounts including original research
• Secondary sources are materials that interpret, comment on, analyze or summarize primary
source material
• Tertiary sources are a combination of primary and secondary source materials
Sources of Information

• Scholarly and Popular Journals

• Libraries
• General Reference Works
• The Government
• The Internet
 Fairness

Accuracy
Evaluating
Online
Sources:
Currency
FACQS
Qualifications

Sufficiency
 FACQS
Criteria Questions To Ask
Fairness Does the author of the material present the information
fairly
and objectively, or is there a bias favoring one position?
Some websites, although objective on the surface, are
actually arms of some political, religious, or social
organization.
Accuracy Is the presented information accurate? (The more you
learn about your topic, the more able you’ll be to judge
accuracy.) Is the information primary or secondary? If it’s
secondary information, try to locate the primary source
material (often a link in the Internet article or a reference
at the end).
Precautions To Take
It’s often useful to go to the home page and look for
information on the nature of the organization
sponsoring the website. Reviewing a range of
research on the subject will help you see how other
experts view the issue.
Check to see whether the information is consistent
with
information found in other sources and whether the
recognized authorities in the field accept this
information.
 FACQS
Criteria Questions To Ask
Currency When was the information published? When were the
sources that are cited in the article written?
Qualifications Does the author have the necessary credentials? For
example, does the author have enough of a background in
science or medicine to write authoritatively on health
issues?
Sufficiency Is the presented information sufficient to establish the claim
or conclusion? The opinion of one dietitian is insufficient to
support the usefulness of a particular diet; statistics on
tuition increases at five elite private colleges are insufficient
to illustrate national trends in tuition costs.
Precautions To Take
To ensure currency check important figures in a recent
almanac, in a newspaper, or at a frequently updated source
such as provided at the FedStats website.
Do an Internet search to check on the writer’s expertise and
credentials.
The broader your conclusion, the more information you’ll need
to meet the requirements for sufficiency. If you claim the
usefulness of a diet for all people, then you’re going to need a
great deal of information from different populations—men and
women, old and young, healthy and sickly, for example.
 Cite the sources in your speech
Cite • Possible to overdo oral citations
• Don’t leave out important source information

Integrating and Integrate

Integrate the citation smoothly
• Use cues to let audience know you are quoting
Citing Research

Include written citations in outline

Include • Include listing of your references in preparation outline
 Example of Verbal Citation
(how you say it during your speech)

“Jason Rudolf, a writer for The New York Times, reports that marine
scientists are concerned about the deterioration of a recently discovered
Gulf of Mexico coral reef due to its proximity to the oil spill”

Note: Provide qualifications/context/date when possible

Use a signal phrase to indicate your source. A signal phrase integrates the
source/speaker into a full sentence.
Incorrect Example of Verbal Citation

“The New York Times states that marine scientists are concerned about the deterioration of a
recently discovered Gulf of Mexico coral reef due to its proximity to the oil spill”

Note: Lack of author or date tells us little about the source or how to find it on the Works
Cited page
Example of Parenthetical or In-text Citation
(how it looks in your preparation outline)

In Text: Marine scientists are concerned about the deterioration of a recently discovered Gulf of
Mexico coral reef due to its proximity to the oil spill (Rudolph, 2017).
Basic: According to Jason Rudolf, marine scientists are concerned about the deterioration of a
recently discovered Gulf of Mexico coral reef due to its proximity to the oil spill (2017).
Basic with credentials: Rudolf, writer for The New York Times, reports that marine scientists are
concerned about the deterioration of a recently discovered Gulf of Mexico coral reef due to its
proximity to the oil spill (2017).
Plagiarism
• Plagiarism is the act or process of passing off the work of others as
your own
• Taking another’s work word for word without citation
• Paraphrasing another’s work without citation
• Paying someone to write your speech or paper without
acknowledgment
• Using selected phrases or tracking structure of another’s work
without acknowledgment
• Using your own previous work as new and original
Plagiarism

Why Plagiarism is Unacceptable

• It’s a violation of another’s intellectual property rights
• Plagiarism defeats fundamental purpose of education
• You are evaluated based on what you present as your work

How You Can Avoid Plagiarism

• You do not have to cite sources for common knowledge
• Acknowledge source of any ideas you present that aren’t your own
• Acknowledge the words of another even when paraphrasing
• Acknowledge help from others
• When in doubt, ask whether you should cite
Support Material
Chapter 6
Examples, Illustrations, and Narratives
Examples
Supporting materials in which specific instances
are used to explain a concept
Bilbo Baggins is a Hobbit
Illustrations
Specific instances drawn in greater detail than a
brief example
According to the author in the prologue to The
Lord of the Rings, hobbits are “relatives” of the
race of Men. Elsewhere, Tolkien describes
Hobbits as a “variety” or separate “branch” of
humans.
Narratives
Illustrations told in story form
“It all began when I was reading exam papers to
earn a bit of extra money. That was agony. One
of the tragedies of the underpaid professor is that
he has to do menial jobs. He is expected to
maintain a certain position and to send his
children to good schools. Well, one day I came
to a blank page in an exam book and I scribbled
on it. ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a
hobbit.
 Guidelines for Using Examples,
Illustrations, and Narratives
• Limit the length
• Stress relevancy
• Distinguish between real and hypothetical examples
• Use examples to emphasize the widespread nature or significance of an
issue or problem
• Use examples that are representative or outstanding
• Use examples that are relevant
Analogies

An analogy is the
comparison of two things
A figurative analogy is an
expressed comparison of A college degree and a
two items of different passport
types
Types of Analogies
A literal analogy is an
expressed comparison of Marketing of Nike and
two items from the same Adidas
class or type
 Avoid Avoid using analogies as proof

Guidelines in
Using
Analogies Use comparable cases
Use • Make sure that the cases are alike in essential respects

Place differences in context

Place • Point out level of significance analogy illustrates
Definitions
•Types of Definitions
• Definition by etymology: Refers to the origin and development of the word’s meaning
• Hobbit: Old English for “hole builder”
• Definition by authority: A definition advanced by an expert
• According to JRR Tolkien
• Definition by negation: A word is defined by what it’s not
• A Hobbit is not a man
• Definition by specific examples: The word’s meaning is suggested by examples
• Bilbo Baggins, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee
 Use when explaining difficult or
unfamiliar concepts

Guidelines in
Use to make a concept more vivid or
Using forceful
Definitions

Make sure definitions only define

what needs defining
Testimony

•Types of Testimony
• Expert testimonies are the testimonies of an authority
• Eyewitness testimonies are the testimonies of someone who has witnessed an event
• Interviews
• Can interview an expert or eyewitness
• Must be able to listen actively, for total meaning, with empathy, an open mind, and ethically
Guidelines in Using Testimony
• Stress the competence of the person
• Make sure the audience sees the person as competent
• Stress the unbiased nature of the testimony
• Perceived bias will lower effectiveness of the testimony
• Stress the recency of the testimony
• Show audience that information is recent and up to date
Numerical Data
• Raw numbers are numbers that have not been subjected to manipulation
• Statistics are summary numbers
• Measures of central tendency tell you the general pattern in a group of numbers (Mean, Median, Mode)
• Measures of correlation is a measure of the extent to which one item can be predicted from the other item
• Positive correlation
• Negative correlation
• Measures of difference is the measure of disparity or difference
• Range
• Percentages are the portion of a total, expressed as a portion of 100
Guidelines for Using Numerical
Data
• Make sure numbers are clear
• Make explicit the meaning of numbers you’re using
• Use numbers in moderation
• Use only reliable and current numerical data
 Should be short, comprehensible,
Quotations and related to point

Comparison and Contrast

Additional
Forms of
Support Simple Statement of
Facts or Series of Facts
Can explain a statement or
position

Repetition helps audience grasp

Repetition and what you are saying

Restatement Restatement helps with culturally

diverse audiences