unit 3 terms Flashcards
Evidence
The available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid.
Dewey Decimal Classification
A system that sorts and organizes all of a library’s physical materials. The most common categorization system in American public libraries.
Database
A structured collection of data, typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality (for example, the availability of rooms in hotels) in a way that supports processes requiring this information (for example, finding a hotel with vacancies).
Boolean Operator
Simple words (AND, OR, NOT) used as conjunctions to combine or exclude keywords in a search, resulting in more focused and productive results.
Peer Review
The scholarly process whereby manuscripts intended to be published in an academic journal are reviewed by independent researchers (referees) to evaluate the contribution, i.e., the importance, novelty, and accuracy of the manuscript’s contents.
Citizen Journalism
Independent reporting, often by amateurs on the scene of an event, and disseminated via new media.
Public Domain
Materials (such as books) which are available to the public and not subject to copyright laws.
Credibility
The objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message.
Content Analysis
A methodology in the social sciences for studying the content of communication. Harold Lasswell formulated the core questions of content analysis: “Who says what, to whom, why, to what extent, and with what effect?”
Exposition
The act of declaring or describing something through either speech or writing.
Anecdote
An account or story which supports an argument, but which is not supported by scientific or statistical analysis.
Scientific Evidence
Empirical, true facts or figures.
Comprehensible
Able to be comprehended; understandable.
Hypothetical
A fictional situation or proposition used to explain a complicated subject.
Statistics
A systematic collection of data on measurements or observations, often related to demographic information such as population counts, incomes, population counts at different ages, etc.
