2.5 Conduct Online Research
specialty search engine
A search engine that lets you search databases, news providers, podcasts, and other online information sources that general search engines do not always access.
fair use doctrine
Allows you to use a sentence or paragraph of text without permission if you include a citation to the original source.
copyright
An originator's exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, or sell intellectual property.
Wolfram Alpha
Answers factual questions directly, without listing webpages that might contain the answer
Ask a Librarian
Connects you to librarians at the Library of Congress and other libraries; allows you to engage in an online chat or submit your question in an online form
CC
Creative commons - nonprofit organization that helps content creators keep copyright to their materials while allowing others to use, copy, or distribute their work
Public Domain
Creative work that's not copyrighted and therefore free for you to use whenever you want.
DRM
Digital Rights Management - A collection of technologies used by software publishers and trade groups to fight software piracy and prevent unauthorized copying of digital content; includes authentication, certificates of authenticity, encryption, and digital watermarks.
TinEye
Does a reverse search for submitted images, rather than keywords, to locate the original image and match it with other indexed images
RhythmOne
Finds videos or other multimedia; uses speech recognition to match the audio part of a video with your search term
citation
In a research paper, a reference to a source; usually in parentheses at the end of a sentence.
intellectual property rights
Legal rights protecting those who create works such as photos, art, writing, inventions, and music.
Ethics
The moral principles that govern people's behavior; many schools and other organizations post codes of conduct for computer use, which can help you make ethical decisions while using a computer.
to check how reasonable a website is
identify the purpose of the website (is page designed to provide facts, sell, express opinions);does it express more than one point of view; biased language is often sign of not being fair or moderate; look for conflict of interest
To evaluate a webpage's support
links or citations to reputable sources or authorities. Test the links to make sure they work; links or citations to reputable sources or authorities. Test the links to make sure they work; quotes from experts; photos or other reproduced content, a credit line should appear somewhere on the page that states the source and any necessary copyright information
To determine the credibility of a website...
look for the "About Us" section and read about the background/credibility of the authors; find bio &check if author has degree in field topic
to check the accuracy of a website
verify facts/claims in sites such as snopes.com/factcheck.org; Be wary of web addresses that contain slight modifications of legitimate sites, use unusual domain names, or have long URLs; Find out more about an organization that has no history, physical location, or staff; Check to see if the source has a bias and evaluate the information with the bias in mind; Check the webpage footer for the date the information was published or updated. For many topics, especially technology, you need current information.