20% Five small research projects that put into practice weekly class material;

20% A specialized subject guide, such as those produced by www.about.com, compiled on a particular topic from our class. Possible subjects include:

• search strategies
• search engines
• subject directories
• government documents online
• public records online
• online health information
• online business information
• newsgroups and listservs

20% Email responses to me addressing questions based on the online readings; questions will be assigned with each weekly assigment;

20% Research essay on a social or political issue raised by Internet research. The paper, 10-15 double-spaced pages, should be a well-documented work, with traditional and online sources. It should include a full bibliography. Possible topics include:

• censorship
• access
• copyright
• confidentiality
• privacy
• fair use
• plagiarism
• government surveillance
• online medical records
• identity fraud
• children and the Internet
• workplace privacy
• libel and service providers
• library filters
• electronic commerce
• disability
• gender issues
• education
• information poverty
• intellectual property rights
  

20% End of semester, in-depth research project on a company, person, place, school or other subject. The paper, about 10 double-spaced pages including footnotes, will have extensive documentation. Every source cited should be identified and evaluated in footnotes according to evaluation standards established in our class.