1. Let's say that you are asked to find out who makes a higher salary, a private detective or a police detective, and then write a research report that presents your findings. Using the online database or card catalog in your library or a popular Internet search engine such as Google, you will quickly learn that the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor publishes a book titled The Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is also available on the Internet at www.bls.gov/oco/.

2. Follow the steps below to learn how to locate information on that site, use the information in a research paper, and document your borrowed information according to the MLA documentation rules:

   Rule 1:	Provide an in-text reference, or "signal phrase," to the source to indicate where the borrowed information begins.
   Rule 2:	At the end of the borrowed information, place a parenthetical citation to the first word of the source and the page of the source (if it is available).
   Rule 3:	Provide the full bibliographic information in a "Works Cited" list on a separate page at the end of the research paper.

1. If you go to the Occupational Outlook Handbook Web site, you can use the search engine on the site to locate information in the site about salaries for detectives.

2. Type "detectives" in the "Search the Handbook" box and then view the results

Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), 2006-07 Edition For hundreds of different types of jobs—such as teacher, lawyer, and nurse—the Occupational Outlook Handbook tells you: the training and education needed earnings expected job prospects what workers do on the job working conditions In addition, the Handbook gives you job search tips, links to information about the job market in each State, and more. Ways to use the Occupational Outlook Handbook site: (1) To find out about a specific occupation or topic, use the Search box that is on every page—enter your search term in the box. (2) To find out about many occupations, browse through listings using the Occupations links that are on the right side of each page. (3) For a listing of all occupations in alphabetical order, go to the A-Z Index and select a letter. About the Handbook: The Occupational Outlook Handbook is a nationally recognized source of career information, designed to provide valuable assistance to individuals making decisions about their future work lives. The Handbook is revised every two years.

1. When the "Results" page appears, you will see a series of links to possible sources of information:

   16 Documents Matched Your Query on "detectives" Private detectives and investigators Service occupations Police and detectives Occupational Outlook Handbook Index: A-B Security guards and gaming surveillance officers State and Local Government, Excluding Education and Hospitals Emergency medical technicians and paramedics Correctional officers Occupational Information Network Coverage Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists Federal Government, Excluding the Postal Service Public relations specialists Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians Firefighting occupations Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators

2. The first and the third entries appear to be related to your research question, so click the hypertext link (underlined text) to review the information.

1. If you click on the link to the first document, "Private Detectives and Investigators," you will receive the results in the table below.

2. Notice that the first results are available in an HTML Web page and a copy of the actual page from the book, suitable for printing (".PDF"). The "HTML" page is designed for easy reading or if you want to copy text to paste into your notes and then later paraphrase or quote for your report. If you want to print a page for later reading, then the ".pdf" file is like a photocopy of an actual page from the book version of The Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Printer-friendly version (HTML) (PDF) Private Detectives and Investigators Nature of the Work Working Conditions Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Employment Job Outlook Earnings Related Occupations Sources of Additional Information SIGNIFICANT POINTS Work hours are often irregular, and the work can be dangerous. About 1 in 4 are self-employed. Applicants typically have related experience in areas such as law enforcement, insurance, the military, or government investigative or intelligence jobs. Despite faster-than-average employment growth, keen competition is expected because of the large number of qualified people who are attracted to this occupation; the most opportunities will be found in entry-level jobs with detective agencies or in stores that hire detectives on a part-time basis.

1. If you then click on the link to "Earnings," the next section of the Web page will appear. You should copy the information on this page and paste it into a blank MS Word document. Be sure to place the text that you have copied in quotation marks to avoid plagiarism. Later you can decide whether to use the exact words or paraphrase the words.
2. In order to be able to document this information if you use it in your report, be sure to do the following:
   1. Copy the title of the page ("Private Detectives and Investigators") and paste that into your MS Word document.
   2. Next, copy the Web address for this page (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm) and paste that address into your MS Word document rather than try to type the address and risk making a mistake.
   3. You should also scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the date when the Web site was published. Copy that date.
   4. Then type the date that you located this site.

EARNINGS Median annual earnings of salaried private detectives and investigators were $32,110 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $24,080 and $43,260. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $19,260, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $58,470. Earnings of private detectives and investigators vary greatly by employer, specialty, and geographic area.

1. If you click the "Back" button on your browser and then click the link to the "Police and Detectives" site, you would receive the following page.
2. When you arrive at the site, click the link to "Earnings" again to move down the page to locate the information to use in your research report.

   Printer-friendly version (HTML) (PDF) Police and Detectives Nature of the Work Working Conditions Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement Employment Job Outlook Earnings Related Occupations Sources of Additional Information SIGNIFICANT POINTS Police and detective work can be dangerous and stressful. Competition should remain keen for higher paying jobs with State and Federal agencies and police departments in affluent areas; opportunities will be better in local and special police departments that offer relatively low salaries or in urban communities where the crime rate is relatively high. Applicants with college training in police science or military police experience should have the best opportunities.

1. If you then click on the link to "Earnings," you will locate the following
2. Notice that these results are more extensive. You will want to copy these results and carefully compare them to the preceding ones to determine who makes more money, private detectives or detectives who work for a police department.
3. Just as you did for the preceding source, be sure to copy the title of the page ("Police and Detectives"), the Web address (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm), and the date of the page and the date that you located it so that you can document the information when you use it in your research paper.

EARNINGS Police and sheriff’s patrol officers had median annual earnings of $45,210 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,410 and $56,360. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $26,910, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $68,880. Median annual earnings were $44,750 in Federal Government, $48,980 in State government, and $45,010 in local government. In May 2004, median annual earnings of police and detective supervisors were $64,430. The middle 50 percent earned between $49,370 and $80,510. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $36,690, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $96,950. Median annual earnings were $86,030 in Federal Government, $62,300 in State government, and $63,590 in local government. In May 2004, median annual earnings of detectives and criminal investigators were $53,990. The middle 50 percent earned between $40,690 and $72,280. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,180, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $86,010. Median annual earnings were $75,700 in Federal Government, $46,670 in State government, and $49,650 in local government. Federal law provides special salary rates to Federal employees who serve in law enforcement. Additionally, Federal special agents and inspectors receive law enforcement availability pay (LEAP)—equal to 25 percent of the agent’s grade and step—awarded because of the large amount of overtime that these agents are expected to work. For example, in 2005, FBI agents entered Federal service as GS-10 employees on the pay scale at a base salary of $42,548, yet they earned about $53,185 a year with availability pay. They could advance to the GS-13 grade level in field nonsupervisory assignments at a base salary of $64,478, which was worth $80,597 with availability pay. FBI supervisory, management, and executive positions in grades GS-14 and GS-15 paid a base salary of about $76,193 and $89,625 a year, respectively, which amounted to $95,241 or $112,031 per year including availability pay. Salaries were slightly higher in selected areas where the prevailing local pay level was higher. Because Federal agents may be eligible for a special law enforcement benefits package, applicants should ask their recruiter for more information. According to the International City-County Management Association’s annual Police and Fire Personnel, Salaries, and Expenditures Survey, average salaries for sworn full-time positions in 2004 were as follows:   Minimum annual base salary Maximum annual base salary       Police chief $72,924 $92,983 Deputy chief 61,110 76,994 Police captain 60,908 75,497 Police lieutenant 56,115 67,580 Police sergeant 49,895 59,454 Police corporal 41,793 51,661 Total earnings for local, State, and special police and detectives frequently exceed the stated salary because of payments for overtime, which can be significant. In addition to the common benefits—paid vacation, sick leave, and medical and life insurance—most police and sheriffs’ departments provide officers with special allowances for uniforms. Because police officers usually are covered by liberal pension plans, many retire at half-pay after 25 or 30 years of service.

1. After you have decided that you have found information to help you answer your research question ("Who makes more money, private detectives or police detectives?"), you are ready to draw a conclusion. You will then state this conclusion at the end of the introduction to your paper as your thesis sentence, or if you are answering this question as one part of a larger question, then your answer will become the topic sentence for your paragraph as shown in the example below.
2. After you write your topic sentence, you will then use the information you have found from the two Web sites above to support your topic sentence. Notice that the same below uses quotations and paraphrases and that both of these follow the first two rules of documentation: (1) an in-text reference to the source to show where the borrowed quotation begins, and (2) a citation to the source at the end of the quotation. The citation is placed within parenthesis and begins with the first word of the title of the source since neither of the sources contained an author's name. Since the sources were obtain from a Web site with no page numbers, only the first word of the title is used in the citation.
3. The final page with the works cited entries completes the third requirement for documentation. (Note: Some writers like to copy text from the Internet site into their document and then later paraphrase the text. For instructions on this process, please click here.)

   The job of a private detective or "private eye" is perhaps a more glamorous occupation in mystery novels and films than is the job of the police officer. The salary of the private detective, however, has not kept pace with that of the police detective. According to the 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Median annual earnings of salaried private detectives and investigators were $32,110 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $24,080 and $43,260. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $19,260, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $58,470" (United States, "Private"). By contrast, the salaries for police detectives clearly exceed the averages of the private detective. The handbook explains further: "In May 2004, median annual earnings of detectives and criminal investigators were $53,990. The middle 50 percent earned between $40,690 and $72,280. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,180, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $86,010. Median annual earnings were $75,700 in Federal Government, $46,670 in State government, and $49,650 in local government." Supervisors in those areas could make up to $15,00 per year more, pointed out the handbook (United States, "Police").

   Works Cited United States. Dept. of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Police and Detectives." 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook. 16 Jan. 2007. 26 Mar. 2007 <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm#earnings>. ---. ---. ---. "Private Detectives and Investigators." 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook. 4 Aug. 2006. 26 Mar. 2007 <http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos157.htm>.

1. A signal phrase introduces borrowed information.
   Notice that the paragraph begins with the author's topic sentence that the author is arguing in the paragraph. That topic sentence is supported with quotations and paraphrases borrowed from two different sources from the same Web site. Each quotation begins with a signal phrase that indicates the beginning of the borrowed information. This satisfies the first documentation rule. The information provided in the last sentence of the paragraph is a paraphrase, but even a paraphrase must follow the same rules of documentation and contain a signal phrase.

2. The in-text citation refers to the works cited page.
   The second documentation rule is satisfied with the in-text citation at the end of each piece of borrowed information. When the borrowed information is a quotation mark, the citation is placed within parentheses after the closing quotation mark. Then the period that ends the sentence is placed after the closing parenthesis. Notice that the citation begins with the first word that is found for the source on the works cited page (see below). The date that the Web site was written is included, but no page number is listed because the Web site does not number pages. The paragraph ends with a second quotation, which is then followed by a paraphrase. Since the second quotation and the paraphrase are both from the same source, the same citation at the end of the paragraph refers to the source of the quotation and the paraphrase. The phrase that introduces the last sentence of the paragraph clearly indicates that the quotation and the paraphrase are from the same source.

3. The works cited page provides the full documentation.
   The third documentation rule is satisfied with the works cited page at the end of the report. The Web site is a publication of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is itself an organization within the United States Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a book titled 2006-07 Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is published on the Web. One chapter from that book, or Web page, is the actual source used in the paper. Since no author is listed on the site, the name of the government agency is considered to be the author. Thus the works cited entry begins with the name of the government, followed by the branches of the government that published the online book. Then the title of the Web page, which is the chapter from the online book, follows the name of the government agencies. Capital letters are used for the title of a chapter from a book and the title of the book itself. Quotation marks are placed around the title of the Web page just as for the title of a periodical article or an article collected as a chapter from a book. For MLA documentation, however, underlining is used instead of italics for the title of a book or periodical. The paragraphs are doubled spaced and begin on the left margin in a hanging indent paragraph style (each subsequent line is indented after the first one). The first date is the date the Web page was posted and is followed by a period. The last date is the eddate the author of the research report located the information on the Web site. The day is listed first, then the month, and then the year if those are available on the Web site. May, June, and July are not abbreviated, but the remaining months are written in this format: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec. A period is not placed between the last date and the Web address, which is written between angle brackets. The entire entry ends with a period.