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Essential Concepts

Using and Searching the Internet

There are many browsers for accessing the internet. You should be familiar with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. Each browser contains navigation tools including the arrow buttons (to go back and forward), the refresh button (to reload the page) and the new tab button (to open a new page in the same window). Each browser also has controls to minimize, maximize, and close the window.

Ethical Research

Ethical research principles include respecting individual autonomy, ensuring safety and fairness, maintaining integrity, and fostering justice. Unethical practices, such as manipulating data or violating confidentiality, can lead to severe consequences, including legal repercussions and loss of public trust.

As technology becomes more integrated into daily life through mobile devices, social media, and ecommerce, the collection and sharing of personal data raises significant privacy concerns. Personal data, defined as any information that can identify an individual, is frequently shared online, making it susceptible to data breaches and misuse. Currently, the U.S. lacks comprehensive federal data privacy laws, though states like California and Vermont have enacted measures to protect consumer data.

Internet Searches

There are a number of various search engines available and some of them may seem familiar to you. The top web search engines are Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, and AOL.com.

When searching on Chrome you can type key search terms into the address bar at the top of the browser window or the search field in the middle of the page. Search results will be displayed underneath and the number of search results will be at the top.

There are different search categories that you can use to filter the results:

• All: will display all search results
• Images: will display image results only
• News: will display news articles from different sources
• Videos: will display video results

Boolean search operators allow you to refine your search and get more efficient results:

• AND will only display results that contain both search terms
• OR will display results that contain one or more of the search terms
• NOT will exclude results that include the search terms after the phrase NOT
• Quotation marks will limit the results to only those that contain the exact phrase
• Asterik will return results that have the beginning of a word, but may contain different endings. For example: comput* may include computer, computation, or compute.
• The minus sign will allow you to exclude results that contain the word after the minus sign

Image searches can be performed by key word, by image, or by url. Searching by image is often called a reverse image search. When using images in professional or commercial products make sure the images are openly licensed by checking the usage rights.

Glossary

​​address bar

a text box in a web browser where you can type a url or search term to navigate to a specific web page or conduct a web search.

AND

a boolean operator used in search engines to include results containing all the specified terms.

Boolean operator

words like and, or, and not used in search engines to refine search results by combining or excluding certain terms.

ecommerce

the buying and selling of goods and services over the internet.

ethics

moral principles that govern a person’s or group’s behavior, particularly in conducting research or business practices.

hyperlink

a clickable link on a web page that directs you to another web page or resource.

image

a visual representation such as a photograph, drawing, or graphic used on web pages and in search results.

internet

a global network of computers that communicate through standardized protocols to exchange information and access resources.

NOT

a boolean operator used in search engines to exclude results containing a specific term.

OR

a boolean operator used in search engines to include results containing any of the specified terms.

personal data

information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual, such as name, address, or email.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

specific personal data that can identify an individual, like social security numbers, financial information, or medical records.

refresh

a browser function that reloads the current web page to update its content.

reverse image search

a search technique where you use an image as the query to find related images or information about the image on the internet.

safe search

a feature provided by search engines and online platforms designed to filter out explicit or inappropriate content from search results. when safe search is enabled, it helps prevent the display of potentially harmful, adult, or offensive material

scroll bar

a tool that allows you to move up, down, or across a web page to view content that is not visible within the browser window.

search categories

groupings of search results based on their type or relevance, like images, videos, news, and maps.

search engine

a tool that searches the internet for information based on keywords entered by the user, such as google or bing.

URL

stands for uniform resource locator, it is the address used to access a web page on the internet.

web browser

a software application used to access and navigate the internet, such as chrome, firefox, or edge.

web page

a document on the internet that can contain text, images, videos, and hyperlinks, accessible through a web browser.