Search Engines | Reference and Guides | Open Access and Encyclopedias
Associations and Organizations | Miscellaneous Sites of Interest

Search Engines

• Google | Bing | Ask | WorldCat | Ixquick | Metaeureka | Lycos | Yahoo | Microsoft | AOL | SearchBug
  These are some of the more common portal and search engine sites although the potential list is almost endless. The development of the Internet proceeds rapidly. No list of resources is ever complete, and even well-known sites change with disconcerting rapidity. One solution to this phenomenon is to use some of the better search engines to find materials of interest. The technology and the commercial competition among search engine providers and the portal sites that use them is intense, and these tools become better and better over time.
  
  For those doing research using the Internet, search engines are indispensable tools and often undiscriminating robots. Each search engine, using somewhat different techniques, finds every site that matches some criteria. In most cases the criteria presented to a search engine are simple: a key word or words. While many search engines can run sophisticated searches using Boolean logic and other search techniques, many users find that simple search procedures do almost as well as sophisticated ones, although they often lead to large result lists with anything from zero to tens of thousands or more sites. Browsing through many sites is not feasible, so many people do multiple searches, refining their search terms until they find what they need among the first 100 or so hits. However, because the system of classification used to capture relevant sites follows rules that do not always match the intent of users, almost every search comes up with a large number of irrelevant sites. Some search sites accept advertising and list paid sites before general sites (although usually they are clear about this process). Effective use of search engines takes some practice.
  
  The sites listed above include both pure search engines such as Google or Bing and portal sites such as MSN or Yahoo. The pure search engine simply searches for results defined by the criteria the user enters. Portal sites offer a wide range of services (news, sports, self-help, directories, advertisements), along with search engines. Often connected to ISP's or other business ventures, the purpose of a portal site is to drive traffic to the site and sell services and advertising viewed by visitors.
  
  The competition among portal sites and search engines is fierce, and most businesses now have portal sites of their own selling, advertising, and supporting their services and merchandise. Newspapers, towns, states, and many other organizations have portal sites to serve their customers and clients, and most of these too have search engines (some to search internal to the organization, some to search the entire Internet). Universities, journals, libraries, and academic associations (some mentioned below) all have their own portal sites.

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Reference and Guides

• MLA Style APA Style and Chicago Manual of Style. These sites from the MLA, the APA, and the Chicago Manual of Style provide authoritative guides to documenting quotations and sources for different disciplinary groups. They provide examples for referencing Internet sources used by students and scholars in their research, demonstrating the style or format best used to cite scholarly projects, reference databases, texts from books, articles in periodicals, and professional or personal sites. Because of the complexity and changing nature of the Internet, students and scholars need a standardized method for citing resources found online. The items here offer a variety of ways to do this to ensure proper attribution.
  


• Electronic Statistics Handbook. StatSoft Inc., provides this electronic textbook on the use of statistics in laboratory research, business, social sciences, data-mining, and engineering, among other fields. Its 24 sections deal with topics such as ANOVA/MANOVA, experimental design, process analysis, and survival/failure time analysis. There is also a detailed glossary and extensive bibliography. The book can also be purchased in print form.


• A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices and A Glossary of Literary Terms. Professor Robert Harris provides these sites. The material "contains definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, (including rhetorical tropes and rhetorical figures) all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing. Note: This book was written in 1980, with some changes since. The devices presented are not in alphabetical order."


• Association for Institutional Research: Web-Based IR Resources. "With over 2200 links to external IR Web pages, IR Resources is one of the most comprehensive sites on the Internet for IR professionals seeking information across the spectrum of IR concerns."


• Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Clearinghouse on Higher Education. "ERIC - the Education Resources Information Center - is an online digital library of education research and information. ERIC is sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC provides ready access to education literature to support the use of educational research and information to improve practice in learning, teaching, educational decision-making, and research. ERIC provides unlimited access to more than 1.4 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials, with hundreds of new records added multiple times per week. If available, links to full text are included."


• The Library of Congress. "The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution and serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with millions of books, recordings, photographs, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library's mission is to support the Congress in fulfilling its constitutional duties and to further the progress of knowledge and creativity for the benefit of the American people."
  This site also includes links to the catalogs and other search tools for using the Library of Congress' immense resources.


• Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System. "The WebCASPAR database provides easy access to a large body of statistical data resources for science and engineering (S&E) at U.S. academic institutions. WebCASPAR emphasizes S&E, but its data resources also provide information on non-S&E fields and higher education in general. "


• Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. "An international consortium of about 700 academic institutions and research organizations, ICPSR provides leadership and training in data access, curation, and methods of analysis for the social science research community. ICPSR maintains a data archive of more than 500,000 files of research in the social sciences. It hosts 16 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields. ICPSR is a unit within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and maintains its office in Ann Arbor."


• College and University Rankings. "For many years, various bodies have undertaken statistical and reputational rankings of colleges and attempted to provide information to prospective students. Increasingly, the importance and validity of college rankings is a hotly debated issue. Many universities, including highly ranked ones, are beginning to question both the data and methods used by some ranking services. Of special concern are the aspects of the rankings which deal with the difficult to measure concept of institutional reputation. At this site, you will find links to many ranking services, along with cautionary notes and a discussion of the ongoing controversy over rankings."


• Oxford English Dictionary Online. "The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words--past and present--from across the English-speaking world. As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from those of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You'll still find these in the OED, but you'll also find the history of individual words, and of the language--traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to films scripts and cookery books." Note: UMass Amherst libraries have a subscription to the OED that makes this service available to students and faculty.


• Education Review. "Education review (ISSN: 10945296) publishes reviews of recent books in education, covering the entire range of education scholarship and practice."


• The Condition of Education. "This website has the key indicators of the condition of education in the United States. These indicators summarize important developments and trends using the latest statistics and are updated as data become available. A Congressionally mandated annual report on these indicators is provided to the White House and Congress each year. In addition, this website has Spotlights on issues of current policy interest. These Spotlights take a more in-depth look at the issues through text, graphics and short videos "


• Encyclopaedia Britannica. "The Encyclopaedia Britannica name has been synonymous with reliable and trustworthy information for generations. Founded in 1768, in Edinburgh, Scotland, it began with the encyclopedia of that name, created by two entrepreneurs and an editor. Over the years its reputation grew as the greatest minds of each generation contributed work to subsequent editions. The size of the Britannica grew as well, from the 3-volume 1st edition to the 32-volume 15th. In the 20th century the company expanded into new areas and new products, such as language instruction, educational media, the classics, and reference works in a host of different languages. In 1981 Britannica published its first digital encyclopedia—probably the first digital encyclopedia—and thus began a journey toward becoming an almost totally digital company. Today the Britannica.com Web site and many others published by EB and its divisions serve tens of millions of people around the world. They are updated daily." This is a subscription service.


• United Nations Global Statistics. "The United Nations Statistical Commission, established in 1947, is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world. It is the highest decision making body for international statistical activities especially the setting of statistical standards, the development of concepts and methods and their implementation at the national and international level. The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council."


• Wordsmyth. This is "...a dictionary that has several important and distinctive qualities. Chief among the distinctive features are (1) clarity, simplicity, and precision of style resulting in definitions that are more accessible than those of American college dictionaries; and (2) the integration of dictionary and thesaurus data, so that only one entry is required instead of both dictionary and thesaurus entries. Succinctly stated: The Wordsmyth Dictionary-Thesaurus (WDT) is the only Dictionary with a complete, integrated thesaurus. Synonyms are keyed to dictionary definitions. No dictionaries (online or in print) offer synonyms keyed to each of the definitions in a dictionary entry. This level of precision is unmatched in any other thesaurus. It is also the only thesaurus with a complete, integrated dictionary. Clarity, simplicity, and precision of style, result in definitions that are more accessible than those of American college dictionaries. The definitions are ordered by frequency of use, so the first definition is most frequently the one the user is seeking. The WDT has more examples than other, comparable dictionaries. The WDT is the only thesaurus to systematically distinguish exact synonyms and near synonyms."


• Every file format in the world -- whatis. "This is a resource for looking up file extension names or suffixes. By browsing alphabetically, you will be able to find the format you are looking for and learn what program it is associated with. In general, if you have the program that uses that file extension, that program can be used to open or otherwise use the file."


• Alex Catalog of Electronic Texts. "This is a collection of public domain and open access documents with a focus on American and English literature as well as Western philosophy. Its purpose is to help facilitate a person's liberal arts education."

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Open Access and Encylopedias

Open access or open source refer to the process of putting intellectual property into the public domain for anyone to use without cost. In some forms of open source, the user is authorized to modify or reuse this intellectual property. Two major types of open source intellectual property are of particular interest to colleges and universities.

Computer programs used to operate networks and computer operating systems, for example, are one type of open source software. These works of intellectual property generally have the characteristic that they are the work of many people and that the work involved is owned by none of them. Instead, they put their work into the public domain. Others may take these programs and modify them and reissue them. However, while this sounds like a free for all, the process of managing open source software is quite complex with various levels of control and protection for the material, even if available without cost.

Sometimes, material can be used and reused as long as the revised version includes the origin or authorship of the original. Other material is made available for use and reuse freely, but without any changes permitted. Certain programs and other intellectual property are put into the public domain without charge for non-commercial uses, but the originator or creator retains ownership and control of the property and prohibits reuse without permission or payment.

One element of the open source model is that the internal workings of computer programs must be made visible to all who want to see how they work. The alternative model of proprietary software keeps the inner workings of the program invisible to the user.

A significant example of this class of property is the Linux operating system for personal computers and servers. It exists in many variants, and evolves with the work of many many individuals. While there is a structure for the control and management of authorized versions of this operating system, others may create unauthorized versions for particular purposes as well. The Linux community and many corporate sponsors have developed an endless array of computer programs to run on variants of the Linux operating system.

Other products, such as journal articles, books, and other intellectual property may be put into the public domain for free non-commercial use, called open access, but the author or publisher retains the copyright and users cannot change or reuse the material without explicit permission from the copyright holder.

Academics struggle with these new forms of intellectual property. The key issue for many is the problem of authority. Who determines and certifies the accuracy of the material put into the public domain? In traditional proprietary academic publishing, the publisher takes responsibility for the review of material submitted for publication using an elaborate peer review process to determine whether academic material is authoritative and publishable. However, this gatekeeper function, sustained by the revenue from the high prices of expensively produced printed media, functions much less effectively in a world where publication is almost free online and anyone can bypass the peer-review validation process. In this new world, it is not always possible to rely on the imprimatur of a high quality publication house to determine which electronic materials are authoritative and which are not. Online, everything appears equal, from the spurious rant to the carefully researched paper. The reader must evaluate the authority level of any particular electronic publication posted without peer review.

A special case that illustrates these issues involves encyclopedias. Often seen as the ultimate example of authoritative information, the traditional encyclopedia seeks out the best scholars to write about their specialties. The sum of all this authoritative commentary is a comprehensive reference work that identifies the state of knowledge on a wide variety of subjects. The original Encyclopedia Britannica is one of the classic examples of this genre.

However, with the emergence of Wikipedia, this notion of authoritative authorship came under a double challenge. Traditional print encyclopedias present themselves as having identified the essential and important topics requiring authoritative presentation. Although perhaps less explicitly stated, the need for defining essential and important came primarily from the physical limitations of printed space, even for such a multivolume work as the Britannica. The traditional reference works also aligned their value with the quality of the experts identified to produce the entries. The encyclopedia did not provide new knowledge, it codified the authoritative version of current knowedge and identified the significant elements of human knowledge through the process of selecting topics for inclusion.

Wikipedia violated both of these norms: authority and selectivity. Under the Wikipedia framework, anyone could provide an entry on any subject, and expertise or validation of expertise was not a requirement, although the user community has a mechanism to challenge and revise Wikipedia entries and Wikipedia also seeks to ensure that entries have reference documentation. However, the user community participates in this activity without attribution. Using the open source model of constant review and iterative corrections, and additions, defective or incomplete entries would in theory be revised and improved until they approached the authority and accuracy of the traditional reference books. In addition, because the internet is almost an infinite resource, Wikipedia placed no limit on the topics or subjects included in the reference work. Thus the selectivity by authority characteristic of the printed encyclopedia also disappeared.

While much controversy swirls around the quality of Wikipedia articles, the user community has embraced this structure with great enthusiasm, much to the consternation of more authority-minded academics. Over time, the free form approach to information and accuracy that characterized the early days of Wikipedia has given way to a more authority based approach with various forms of review and validation. Nonetheless, being free, open, and infinitely expandable has made this reference work a major challenge to the authoritative, expensive, closed, and limited reference works such as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Other, Wiki type reference works have emerged as well, again challenging specialized printed reference works. In the initiatives described below some of the issues discussed here are clearly evident in their organization, sponsorship, and editorial policies.

• Scholarpedia. "Scholarpedia is a peer-reviewed open-access encyclopedia written by scholars from all around the world. Scholarpedia feels and looks like Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Indeed, both are powered by the same program -- MediaWiki. Both allow visitors to read and modify articles simply by clicking on the edit this article link. However, Scholarpedia differs from Wikipedia in some very important ways: Each article is authored by the top expert who is sponsored by two existing curators.
  Each article is peer-reviewed and validated by two independent curators. Upon validation, the author of the article becomes its curator. Any registered user can modify and improve the article. However, the modification needs to be approved by a team of article contributors before it appears in the final approved version. Upon approval, the user joins the team of article contributors. Article Contributors are assigned a Curator Index that reflects their contribution to the article and allows them to evaluate revisions to the article. The sum of Curator Indices across articles forms the Scholarpedia Index and endows users with certain privileges. When an article curator resigns or is no longer available, a team of contributors elects the world's best expert to become the curator. Their votes are weighted by their Curator Ranks (to be implemented in 2012). Herein also lies the greatest difference between Scholarpedia and traditional print media: although the initial authorship and review are similar to a print journal so that Scholarpedia articles could be cited, articles are not frozen and outdated, but dynamic, subject to an ongoing process of improvement moderated by their curators. This allows Scholarpedia to be up-to-date, yet maintain the highest quality of content."


• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. "Welcome to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP). From its inception, the SEP was designed so that each entry is maintained and kept up-to-date by an expert or group of experts in the field. All entries and substantive updates are refereed by the members of a distinguished Editorial Board before they are made public. Consequently, our dynamic reference work maintains academic standards while evolving and adapting in response to new research. You can cite fixed editions that are created on a quarterly basis and stored in our Archives (every entry contains a link to its complete archival history, identifying the fixed edition the reader should cite). The Table of Contents lists entries that are published or assigned. The Projected Table of Contents also lists entries which are currently unassigned but nevertheless projected."


• Encyclopedia Virginia. "Encyclopedia Virginia (EV) is an authoritative and user-friendly resource on the history and culture of Virginia. A project of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) in partnership with the Library of Virginia, EV publishes topical and biographical entries written by scholars, edited to be accessible to a general audience, and vigorously fact checked. Entries are accompanied by primary documents and media objects, including images, audio and visual clips, and links to Google Street View tours of historic sites. Content creation is a work in progress, with new entries published regularly."


• Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. "The on-line edition of the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture is a joint project of the Tennessee Historical Society and the University of Tennessee Press. This fully searchable version of the print edition, originally published in 1998, contains over 1,500 entries. The online version has updates to existing entries, new entries, more than five hundred additional images, plus audio and video files."


• The New Georgia Encyclopedia. "Welcome to the redesigned site of the New Georgia Encyclopedia! More than two years' worth of researching, planning, designing, and legwork have gone into producing the next generation of the NGE. The technology and design upgrade ensures that the encyclopedia's 2,000-plus articles and 6,000-plus images remain available and accessible to our many users. Originally launched in 2004, the NGE is the first state encyclopedia to be conceived and designed exclusively for publication online. This authoritative resource contains original content and helps users understand the rich history and diverse culture of Georgia's still-unfolding story."


• Citizendium. "A project to develop a comprehensive compendium of knowledge.... Citizendium, a wiki for providing free knowledge where authors use their real, verified names. We welcome anyone who wants to share their knowledge by writing and improving articles on virtually any subject. Expert authors can be recognized with a special role, but membership is open to all."


• UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. "The UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology is an international cooperative project to provide high quality peer reviewed information on ancient Egypt. It is a resource in development and will grow steadily."

Although there are significant intellectual and academic issues surrounding open access, many of the concerns are really about money. Who pays for the material, who owns the material, and how does the academic community of users support the production of intellectual property?

These questions do not lend themselves to easy answers. Before the Internet, the structure of support for intellectual property, while complex, appeared relatively well understood and stable. This financial structure relied on academic institutions with their libraries and faculty, government grants, foundation support, commercial and university presses, and academic associations with their scholarly journals. These institutions provided a method to pay for the production of academic intellectual property, but they also subsidized the editorial process of reviewing for quality and accuracy and a system for putting authoritative material into circulation through books, articles, journals, and other primarily print media sold to various audiences.

The Internet destabilized this system, and the growing financial challenges faced by many of the institutions providing financial support contributed to the rapid partial undermining of these arrangements. Libraries, struggling to pay for expensive subscriptions to scholarly journals, faculty dissatisfied with the slow pace of publication and often the need to pay for publication in some scientific journals, and others critical of the gatekeeper functions performed by journals and book publishers all contributed to a strong interest in exploring alternative publication methods using the open access model.

This set of circumstances has begun a change in the publication process for academics, and while the consequences are not yet entirely clear, we are surely likely to have a modified model in the future. However constructed, the costs of research, publication, and review must be paid. In the open access model, the payment is made by institutions that employ the people who do the work of preparing intellectual products or the task of putting them in a form that is accessible online. Other institutions pay for the hardware and software that provides Internet access, and users pay for the equipment that permits them to read the materials. Peer review and gatekeeping will not disappear, as the academy requires a method for expert review and determination of accuracy and reliability, but they may not be as formally tied to the mechanics of publication as they are at present.

In any event, the distribution of scholarly work and the process of academic review associated with publication are sure to change more before a new structure stabilizes. In large part this is also a function of the immature nature of the Internet which has yet to develop a clear method for recovering the cost of production from the users of the products it distributes.

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Associations and Organizations

• American Association of University Professors. "The mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, post‐doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education's contribution to the common good.The AAUP has reorganized into three interlocked entities under one AAUP umbrella: the AAUP (a professional association), the AAUP-CBC (a labor union), and the AAUP Foundation (a foundation)."


• American Association of Community Colleges. "The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation’s community colleges. The association represents nearly 1,200 two-year, associate degree–granting institutions and more than 13 million students."


• Educause. "EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education through the use of information technology."


• American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). "AACRAO is a non-profit, voluntary, professional association of more than 11,000 higher education professionals who represent approximately 2,600 institutions in more than 40 countries. Its mission is to provide professional development, guidelines, and voluntary standards to be used by higher education officials regarding the best practices in records management, admissions, enrollment management, administrative information technology, and student services. "


• AACSB--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. "The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business is a global, nonprofit membership organization of educational institutions, businesses, and other entities devoted to the advancement of management education. Established in 1916, AACSB International provides its members with a variety of products and services to assist them with the continuous improvement of their business programs and schools."


• American Association for the Advancement of Science. "The AAAS seeks to "advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people. To fulfill this mission, the AAAS Board has set the following broad goals: Enhance communication among scientists, engineers, and the public; Promote and defend the integrity of science and its use; Strengthen support for the science and technology enterprise; Provide a voice for science on societal issues; Promote the responsible use of science in public policy; Strengthen and diversify the science and technology workforce; Foster education in science and technology for everyone; Increase public engagement with science and technology; and Advance international cooperation in science."


• American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). "AASCU is a Washington-based higher education association of nearly 420 public colleges, universities and systems whose members share a learning and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions' economic progress and cultural development."


• American College Personnel Association (ACPA). "American College Personnel Association (ACPA) - headquartered in Washington, D.C. at the National Center for Higher Education, is the leading comprehensive student affairs association that advances student affairs and engages students for a lifetime of learning and discovery. ACPA has nearly 7,500 members representing 1,200 private and public institutions from across the U.S. and around the world. ACPA members include graduate and undergraduate students enrolled in student affairs/higher education administration programs, faculty, and student affairs educators, from entry level to senior student affairs officers, and organizations and companies that are engaged in the campus marketplace."


• American Council on Education (ACE). "ACE is the nation's most visible and influential higher education association. We represent the presidents of U.S. accredited, degree-granting institutions, which include two- and four-year colleges, private and public universities, and nonprofit and for-profit entities. Our strength lies in our loyal and diverse base of more than 1,700 member institutions, 75 percent of which have been with ACE for over 10 years. That loyalty stands as a testament to the value derived from membership. We convene representatives from all sectors to collectively tackle the toughest higher education challenges, with a focus on improving access and preparing every student to succeed."


• American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). "ACLS, a private, nonprofit federation of 74 national scholarly organizations, is the preeminent representative of American scholarship in the humanities and related social sciences. Advancing scholarship by awarding fellowships and strengthening relations among learned societies is central to our work. Other activities include support for scholarly conferences, reference works, and scholarly communication innovations. Since its founding in 1919, ACLS has provided the humanities and related social sciences with leadership, opportunities for innovation, and national and international representation."


• Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU). "AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality, and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U now comprises more than 1,300 member institutions—including accredited public and private colleges, community colleges, research universities, and comprehensive universities of every type and size."


• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "Founded in 1876 The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association. Its members comprise all 145 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 51 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and more than 80 academic societies."


• Association of American Universities (AAU). "The Association of American Universities (AAU) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that comprises 62 leading public and private research universities in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1900 to advance the international standing of U.S. research universities, AAU today focuses on issues that are important to research-intensive universities, such as funding for research, research policy issues, and graduate and undergraduate education. Membership in AAU is by invitation and is based on the high quality of programs of academic research and scholarship and undergraduate, graduate, and professional education in a number of fields, as well as general recognition that a university is outstanding by reason of the excellence of its research and education programs."


• Association of American University Presses (AAUP). "The AAUP is an organization of nonprofit publishers whose members strive to advance scholarship through their offerings. The Association's mission is to assist its members through professional education, cooperative services, and public advocacy. We educate by offering training programs and workshops, by holding specialized and general annual meetings, and by aggregating and distributing industry information. Our cooperative services expand our members' reach and efficiency. We advocate by promoting the value of university presses both within and outside the university community and by acting as our members' collective voice on matters of free speech, academic freedom, copyright, and other core issues."


• Association of International Educators (NAFSA). "With more than 10,000 members worldwide, NAFSA: Association of International Educators is the leading organization committed to international education and exchange, working to advance policies and practices that build global citizens with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in today's interconnected world."


• Association for Institutional Research (AIR)."The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) is the world's largest professional association for institutional researchers. The organization provides educational resources, best practices and professional development opportunities for more than 4,000 members. Its primary purpose is to support members in the process of collecting, analyzing, and converting data into information that supports decision-making in higher education."


• Association of Research Libraries. "The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 124 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in the US and Canada that share similar research missions, aspirations, and achievements. The Association's importance and distinction is born from its membership and the nature of the institutions represented. Its mission and guiding principles shape these basic values that are essential elements of the Association’s success: Open and equitable access to information is a fundamental tenet to society. Research libraries are active agents central to the process of the transmission and creation of knowledge. Research libraries have a responsibility to anticipate and prepare for the information needs of present and future users. Collaboration among libraries improves prospects for individual library success in fulfilling local needs. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research library marketplace, spending more than $1.4 billion every year on library materials."


• Review of Higher Education, the Journal of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). "The Review of Higher Education provides a forum for discussion of varied issues affecting higher education. The journal advances the study of college- and university-related topics through peer-reviewed articles, essays, reviews and research findings, and by emphasizing systematic inquiry--both quantitative and qualitative--and practical implications. Considered one of the leading research journals in the field, The Review keeps scholars, academic leaders, and public policymakers abreast of critical issues facing higher education today. The Review of Higher Education is the official journal of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)."


• Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. "Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered in 1906 by an act of Congress, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is committed to developing networks of ideas, individuals, and institutions to advance teaching and learning. We join together scholars, practitioners, and designers in new ways to solve problems of educational practice. Toward this end, we work to integrate the discipline of improvement science into education with the goal of building the field’s capacity to improve."


• Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). "The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a professional association serving educational institutions and the advancement professionals who work on their behalf in alumni relations, communications, development, marketing and allied areas. CASE helps its members build stronger relationships with their alumni and donors, raise funds for campus projects, produce recruitment materials, market their institutions to prospective students, diversify the profession, and foster public support of education."


• Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). "A national advocate and institutional voice for promoting academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations."


• The Institute for Higher Education Policy. The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization committed to promoting access to and success in higher education for all students. Based in Washington, D.C., IHEP develops innovative policy- and practice-oriented research to guide policymakers and education leaders who develop high-impact policies that will address our nation’s most pressing education challenges. IHEP is committed to equality of opportunity for all and helps low-income, minority, and other historically underrepresented populations gain access to and achieve success in higher education. This focus is the major driver of our four policy priorities: Elevating effective pathways for increased degree attainment, Enhancing affordability and reshaping college finance systems, Promoting and improving meaningful accountability and consumer awareness, Supporting communities and critical institutions serving 21st-century students. IHEP is committed to improving college access and success in higher education for all students—with a special focus on underserved populations—by providing timely research to inform public policy decisions."


• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a membership-driven organization dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life."


• National Academies. "The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world. Our work helps shape sound policies, inform public opinion, and advance the pursuit of science, engineering, and medicine."


• National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO). "The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) is a membership organization representing more than 2,100 colleges and universities across the country. NACUBO specifically represents chief business and financial officers through advocacy efforts, community service, and professional development activities. The association's mission is to advance the economic viability, business practices and support for higher education institutions in fulfillment of their missions."


• National Association of College Auxiliary Services (NACAS). "Founded in 1969 as the National Association of College Auxiliary Services, NACAS is the largest auxiliary services support organization serving higher education. Ancillary Services, Business Services, Campus Services. No matter what your campus calls them, they all have one thing in common: non-academic campus support. From campus stores to student unions, auxiliary services are in the business of generating revenue and finding campus solutions. It's an industry that provides over $40 billion in higher education revenue."


• Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). "The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) is a research, policy, and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. With a membership of 235 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems, and affiliated organizations, APLU's agenda is built on the three pillars of increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research, and expanding engagement. The association's work is furthered by an active and effective advocacy arm that works with Congress and the administration as well as the media to advance federal policies that strengthen public universities and benefit the students they serve."


• National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). "NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health, and sustainability of the student affairs profession. Our work provides high-quality professional development, advocacy, and research for 15,000 members in all 50 states, 25 countries, and 8 U.S. territories."


• National Council of University Research Administrators (NACURA). "NCURA serves its members and advances the field of research administration through education and professional development programs, the sharing of knowledge and experience, and by fostering a professional, collegial, and respected community."


• Association of University Technology Managers. "The Association of University Technology Managers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing research to life by supporting and enhancing the global academic technology transfer profession through education, professional development, partnering and advocacy. AUTM's more than 3,200 members represent managers of intellectual property from more than 300 universities, research institutions and teaching hospitals around the world as well as numerous businesses and government organizations."


• National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). "Established by Congress in 1965, the NEA is the independent federal agency whose funding and support gives Americans the opportunity to participate in the arts, exercise their imaginations, and develop their creative capacities. Through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies, and the philanthropic sector, the NEA supports arts learning, affirms and celebrates America’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, and extends its work to promote equal access to the arts in every community across America. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts and the agency is celebrating this milestone with events and activities through 2016. Go to arts.gov/50th to enjoy art stories from around the nation, peruse Facts & Figures, and check out the anniversary timeline. "


• The National Science Foundation. "The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 'to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…' With an annual budget of $7.5 billion (FY 2016), we are the funding source for approximately 24 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. In many fields such as mathematics, computer science and the social sciences, NSF is the major source of federal backing."


• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada--SSHRC. "The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) is the federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and research training in the humanities and social sciences. Created by an act of Canada’s Parliament in 1977, SSHRC reports to Parliament through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada."


• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). "The Southern Regional Education Board works with states to improve public education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education. We help policymakers make informed decisions by providing independent, accurate data and recommendations. We help educators strengthen student learning and preparedness by sharing proven practices and scarce resources. SREB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Atlanta."

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Miscellaneous Sites of Interest

• National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES). "As one of 13 federal statistical agencies, NCSES designs, supports, and directs periodic national surveys and performs a variety of other data collections and research. The following activities form the core of NCSES work: The collection, acquisition, analysis, reporting, and dissemination of statistical data related to the United States and other nations, Support of research that uses NCSES data, Methodological research in areas related to its work, Education and training of researchers in the use of large-scale nationally representative data sets "


• The Center for Measuring University Performance. "The Center for Measuring University Performance (MUP) is a research enterprise focused on the competitive national context for major research universities. The MUP work relies heavily on the initiative and insight of its advisory board and draws on the insight and recommendations of many colleagues throughout the country who contribute data, information, and perspective."


• Inside Higher Ed. "The online source for news, opinion and career advice and services for all of higher education." Free access.


• The Chronicle of Higher Education. "The Chronicle of Higher Education is the academic world's No. 1 source of news and information." This is a subscription publication.


• Education Statistics Quarterly. "The Quarterly offers a comprehensive overview of work done across all of NCES. Each issue includes short publications and summaries covering all NCES publications and data products released in a given time period as well as notices about training and funding opportunities. In addition, each issue includes a featured topic with invited commentary, and a note on the topic from NCES.."


• All Universities around the World. Lists universities by region and by country.


• HathiTrust. "HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository and highly functional access platform. It provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. The partners ensure the reliability and efficiency of the digital library by relying on community standards and best practices, developing policies and procedures to manage content and services at scale, and maintaining a modular, open infrastructure."


• EdX. "Founded by Harvard University and MIT in 2012, edX is an online learning destination and MOOC provider, offering high-quality courses from the world’s best universities and institutions to learners everywhere."


• Coursera. "Coursera is an education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take."


• ITHAKA. "At ITHAKA, we are driven to deploy technologies to make our universities, colleges, and high schools better, more affordable, and more effective. Reaching beyond traditional walls, we support learners everywhere and impact the lives of millions of people every day. In two decades, we have launched three of the most transformative and widely used services in higher education: JSTOR, Portico and Ithaka S+R – and recently our strategic alliance with Artstor has allowed us to further enhance our mission by facilitating access to its services for researchers, teachers, and students worldwide."

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