Revision as of 23:48, 27 August 2009 editDreadstar (talk | contribs)53,180 editsm Reverted edits by Dreadstar (talk) to last version by Jayen466← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:48, 27 August 2009 edit undoDreadstar (talk | contribs)53,180 edits per Wikipedia_talk:No_original_research/Archive_45#Examples_page, this was to remain in WP:NOR as an exampleNext edit → | ||
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<blockquote>The UN's stated objective is to maintain international peace and security, and since its creation there have been only 160 wars throughout the world.</blockquote> | <blockquote>The UN's stated objective is to maintain international peace and security, and since its creation there have been only 160 wars throughout the world.</blockquote> | ||
===A complex example=== | |||
The following is a more complex example of an original synthesis. It is based on an actual Misplaced Pages article about a dispute between two authors, here called Smith and Jones: | |||
<blockquote>Smith claimed that Jones committed ] by copying references from another author's book. Jones responded that it is acceptable scholarly practice to use other people's books to find new references.</blockquote> | |||
Now comes the original synthesis: | |||
<blockquote>If Jones did not consult the original sources, this would be contrary to the practice recommended in the Harvard ''Writing with Sources'' manual, which requires citation of the source actually consulted. The Harvard manual does not call violating this rule "plagiarism". Instead, plagiarism is defined as using a source's information, ideas, words, or structure without citing them.</blockquote> | |||
The first paragraph was properly sourced. The second paragraph was original research because it expressed the editor's opinion that, given the Harvard manual's definition of plagiarism, Jones did not commit it. To make the second paragraph consistent with this policy, a reliable source would be needed that ''specifically'' comments on the Smith and Jones dispute and makes the same point about the Harvard manual and plagiarism. In other words, that precise analysis must have been published by a reliable source ''in relation to the topic'' before it can be published in Misplaced Pages by a contributor. | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== |
Revision as of 23:48, 27 August 2009
ShortcutsHere are some examples of Original Research.
Original synthesis
- The violation of SYN is in bold.
Intelligence officers
Intelligence officers of the attacking forces claimed to have telephoned the residents of buildings where military assets were suspected of being stored, to warn them to leave before it was bombed. During the war, 90% of the telephone system was down. (Implied: Thus the attacking forces could not have warned 90% of the residents whose buildings were bombed.)
Pre-Christmas boycott
Organisation X called for a pre-Christmas product boycott. They subsequently claimed on their website that it had a dramatic effect. In the run-up to Christmas that year, Retailer Z suffered disappointing sales, and its share price dropped. (Implied: Organisation X's boycott may have had something to do with the drop in sales and subsequent drop in share price of retailer Z.)
Let's trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle
Let's trim our hair in accordance with the socialist lifestyle was part of a North Korean government propaganda campaign promulgating grooming and dress standards. It was broadcast on the state-run Korean Central Television in the capital of Pyongyang. The television program claimed that hair length can affect human intelligence, in part because of the deprivation to the rest of the body of nutrients required for hair to grow. This is at odds with the mainstream medical understanding that hair growth is unaffected by the amount of previously grown hair that remains attached to the body.
Implied conclusion
, since the 2008 election of President Ma, unemployment rate has risen to over 5.9% and Economic Growth fallen to -2.9%.
It is original research because no source makes the correlation between the rise in unemployment and the election of President Ma. The sentence was later changed to the following:
Since the global financial crisis starting with United States in 2007, unemployment rate has risen to over 5.9% and Economic Growth fallen to -2.9%.
Another example of implied conclusion
The UN's stated objective is to maintain international peace and security, but since its creation there have been 160 wars throughout the world.
Although no conclusion is specifically stated and both facts are true, the sentence implies that the UN has failed to maintain world peace. If no reliable source has combined the material in this way, it constitutes original research. It would be easy to imply the opposite using the same material, illustrating how, when no source is provided, facts can easily be manipulated:
The UN's stated objective is to maintain international peace and security, and since its creation there have been only 160 wars throughout the world.