History 403B students will identify and select images of Orange County public artworks to include in a digital mapping project. Students will attempt to find works available to use under the public domain or through Creative Commons, but they may have to contact the photo or illustration creators to request permission to use copyrighted works. Students will define the appropriate metadata criteria for the project, and then create that metadata.
Due to the vast number of sources existing online, it can be difficult to tell whether some sources are trustworthy to use as tools for research. The CRAAP test contains a series of questions that helps students and educators determine if sources are trustworthy and appropriate for academic research. CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. By employing the CRAAP test while evaluating sources, a researcher reduces the likelihood of using unreliable information. Please keep in mind that the following questions are not static nor exhaustive. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.
Since this course project involves selecting images created by others to include in a digital display, versus for regular research purposes, I have highlighted in yellow the CRAAP Test criteria most relevant to this course assignment, and elaborate on that below the infographic.
Currency:
Authority:
Accuracy:
Following are some general search strategies – applicable to any archive or repository – to locate digital content for your assignment. The tabs to the right focus on suggested repositories, and include any strategies that are more specific to each of those websites and collections.
Wikimedia Commons is a digital media repository run by the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization behind Wikipedia. Many government institutes and cultural heritage organizations, along with individuals, contribute their collections to Wikimedia Commons to make them freely available and more discoverable.
Pay attention to these particular sections of each Wikimedia Commons item record that you review from your search results. The numbers in this list correspond to the numbers displayed on the graphics below.
For the numbered section of this item record, please refer to the explanation above.
For the numbered section of this item record, please refer to the explanation above.
The California focus of Calisphere makes it particularly suited to the course assignment. Calisphere allows you to filer your search results on different facets such as media type (image, text, sound, etc.), and by decade,
After entering your search term(s) on Calisphere, it can be helpful to filter your query by one or any of the following criteria. Each criteria point listed here corresponds to the same number on the screenshot below:
Search Tip: There is no ability to filter on public domain items. A suggested workaround is to use the search term "public domain" in the main search box, or in the option to search within your results. While that will also retrieve items that use the term "public domain" in general item record metadata fields (like a description field that describes public domain land grants), it will also bring up any items that have the term public domain in the rights information metadata field.
The Exhibitions feature on Calisphere can be a useful discovery tool. Each exhibition focuses on a particular theme and curates select digital media that tell story around that theme. You can access the Exhibitions by clicking on that tab in the site-wide navigation menu (shown below with a red arrow). This brings up a random collection of exhibitions. Use the Browse All button (outlined below in the red box) to access all exhibitions.
Pay attention to these particular sections of each Calisphere item record that you review from your search results. The numbers in this list correspond to the numbers displayed on the graphic below.
The Rights Information field on the item record for a circa 1910 photo of a winter orange grove, resides in the public domain. That field is emphasized in the image below with a purple box.
The Rights Information field on the item record for a historic photo of the Pio Pico Branch Library building indicates that the lending institution – in this case, the Los Angeles Public Library – must be contacted to inquire into using this image. That field is emphasized in the image below with a purple box.
The Rights Information field on the item record for a photo of an early 20th century farming scene in Whittier has an unknown copyright status. That field is emphasized in the image below with a purple box.
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