Source integration is frequently required in academic writing. By incorporating your sources into the content of your paper, you show your reader that you have researched the issue and considered the work of experts in the field. You can accomplish this by quoting or paraphrasing the authors of the articles you use. Integration also requires that you connect the information in your sources with what you have to say about it. For example, if one source discusses research showing that students who eat breakfast are more likely to do well on tests than those who do not, you would need to explain why this is important for breakfast consumers- especially since other studies have shown that students who eat little during the day tend to eat less at night too- so they would not need to be concerned with this issue. Integration involves making these connections between sources and your own argument or conclusion. Finally, integration involves using evidence from different places (or levels of analysis) in your paper. For example, if one study shows that students who eat breakfast perform better on tests than those who do not, another study might conclude that eating breakfast helps students develop good study habits overall- something only someone familiar with both studies' findings would know. In this case, the second study provides evidence at a higher level of analysis (the individual) while the first study provides evidence at a lower level of analysis (the group).