Southwest Airlines Professional Communications Certification Practice Exam

What is an important step in the research process after completing a paper?

1. Editing

2. Citing

3. Packaging

4. Distributing

The correct answer is: Citing

Citing is an essential step in the research process after completing a paper because it involves acknowledging the sources of information and ideas that were used to develop the work. Proper citation is vital for maintaining academic integrity, allowing readers to trace the sources for further study, and giving credit to original authors, which contributes to the credibility of the research. While editing, packaging, and distributing are important tasks, they do not hold the same critical role in upholding scholarly practices as citing does. Editing involves refining the content and correcting errors, packaging refers to the way the paper is presented, and distributing pertains to sharing the work with an audience; however, none of these steps directly address the ethical responsibility of acknowledging the sources that support the paper's arguments and findings. Thus, the focus on citation highlights the importance of ethical scholarship in the research process.