How to Access Miami Dade Databases

Purpose of this Discussion: To help prepare you to integrate research into your paper, and to access the Library Databases to find acceptable critical, peer-reviewed sources and credit the sources correctly within your text.

Read: “How to Access Miami Dade Databases” in your Module 3 Resources folder. Another site to find what you need is Google Scholar, but too often access to those articles require payment. Do not use plain Google. The Miami Dade Databases is your best source. Contact a reference librarian at one of the campuses if you are having trouble logging on. Wolfson Campus library telephone number: 305-237-3144

Find Two Articles: In the Library Databases find two articles, one concerning Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee and one concerning apartheid or South African history.

Prompt: 1. Write a few sentences or a paragraph, integrating a quote, paraphrase, or summary from either of the articles. 2. Document your paragraph with either a signal phrase or a parenthetical in-text citation.

• Example of a signal phrase:  “According to Joe Doe, from Liberal Arts University…”  If it is from a print source, add the page number in parentheses. Web sources require no page number. When the author’s name is not mentioned in the paragraph’s signal phrase, add it in parentheses, as in the following example: Example of an in-text citation:  (Coetzee 102). Your MLA Resources folder also has information and a sample paper.

M1: How to Access the Miami Dade College M1: How to Access the Miami Dade CollegeDatabasesDatabases

How fo access the Miami dade College Database:

Why am I sending you to the Miami Dade College databases?  Because Googling your topic will take you to too many unacceptable sources.  Most of what’s in the Miami Dade Database will be acceptable. If you don’t feel you’ve found what you were looking for in the MDC site, you may try Google Scholar or any other university library databases, but you may find those require a fee.

Make sure to read the page titled “Evaluating Sources” and/or the section on “Evaluating Sources” under the Research tab, pg. 416 of Rules for Writers, 8th Edition. Those will keep you from choosing wrong sources, no matter where you find the articles and sources that you want to use.

How to access the Miami Dade College database: Begin by going to the Miami Dade College home page menu on the left > Libraries > Databases A to Z.

Or go directly to this link:  

Anyone with an Internet connection can search for library materials online. You must connect to the databases by using your valid Borrower ID and PIN which is your MDC student or employee number. Your Borrower ID is your MDC student/employee number, and your PIN (unless you change it) is the last 4 digits of your MDC student/employee number.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.