As part of my ongoing series on blog resources, covering the many online resources I use to help me blog, you can tell that I don’t deal with rumors or guesses. I like facts. I don’t mind a few estimates, but I like being right when I make a claim or statement, so I work hard to find backup supporting evidence to support what I write.
Here are some of the resources I’ve bookmarked to help me find the research material, facts, and supporting evidence for my blog writing. Your list may be different because of the topics you cover. Mine relates specifically to blogging, blog writing, and WordPress, and a few other blog-related topics.
Is It Fact Or Fiction
Before you publish it on your blog or forward that email, check to make sure you are publishing and forwarding facts not fiction. Too many people are easily swayed by information published online, taking it for truth when it could be total fabrication.
Check first. Check sources. Check facts. Then publish.
I wrote about this in Finding Conspiracy Blogs… and The Truth and Web Browser Guide: Scams, Hoaxes, Rumor Mills, and Online Trash – Check the Facts, which includes tips and information on how to verify the fact or the fiction.
Here are some hoax and scam checking resources and articles.
- Scambusters
- About Antivirus Software: Most Popular Articles
- Current Netlore: Internet hoaxes, email rumors, urban legends
- Fact Check – Annenberg Political Fact Check
- Fact Check – Annenberg Political Fact Check
- FactCheckEd – Annenberg Classroom Fact Check
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
- Federal Bureau of Investigation – Uniform Crime Reports
- Better Read That Again: Web Hoaxes and Misinformation
- US Justice Statistics
- PC World – The Top 25 Web Hoaxes and Pranks
- ScamBusters Check Station
- About.com’s Urban Legends
- Unsolicited Commercial E-mail Research – the Center for Democracy and Technology
- CDC – US Center for Disease Control – Medical and health hoaxes and warnings
- Computer Security Resource Center – Virus Warnings
- Hoaxbusters
- Network Association’s Virus Information Library
- PC Hell – Answers to nagging computer problems, viruses and hoaxes
- Snopes – Hoaxes
- Truth or Fiction
- Urban Legends – Hoaxes and Scams
- FDA – US Food and Drug Administration – Food and drug warnings and hoaxes
- Vmyths – Validating Virus Myths
Chasing the News
I often need to reference a news story or some news reference about a subject I’m blogging about such as copyright, libel, equal access and accessibility, and such. I also like to check in on the local news for an area I’m traveling to, especially one I will be speaking in, so I can reference a few local tidbits of news and gossip to let them know I’m keeping track of them.
I use several resources for tracking down newspapers, magazines, and news beyond typical online resources. U.S. News Archives on the Web lists online versions of newspapers across the United States in alphabetical order. News Directory allows searching and browsing by country, region, subject, and type.
Other newspaper and media contacts and resources include:
Facts and Statistics
Making claims on statistics and global facts in my blog posts, I try to find the evidence before staking my claim. Here are some of the US and world governments, scientific, Internet, and other official resources I use to research my claims.
Guide to Internet Statistics and Research is an amazing resource of links to all types of Internet statistics, research information and details, datamining, and more.
Data Mining is one of my favorite sites as they do a lot of the research into web and social statistics so I don’t have to. Their articles offer indepth research analysis and visualization of the statistics so they are understandable for anyone.
US Government – Facts and Figures About Your Community offers a wide range of facts and statistics such as Agriculture and Food, Environment and Energy, Facts About the United States, Science and Technology, and U.S. and the World. There are some interesting facts you can find that may help you write blog posts such as the Environment Where You Live, Ocean Tracker, Gasoline Prices for U.S. Cities, Find Airlines with Best On-Time Records, Airline Taxi Times and Other Facts, How Much Does the US Spend on Research and Development?, Internet Access in US Public Schools, and the Digital Divide, tracking how many Americans own and use computers and telephones.
When I write about money, I use the popular Universal Currency Converter to convert money across borders when I need to help my readers understand that a million US dollars equals 690,560,000 EUR. Well, at least it did yesterday.
Some other resources for global facts, figures, and statistics include:
General US Government Facts, Figures, and Statistics
- US Census Bureau Fact Finder
- United States Government Printing Office
- US FedStats
- Internal Revenue Service
- US Statistical Resources on the Web
- Library of Congress
- Bureau of Justice Statistics World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Justice
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
- White House Social Science Briefing Room
- State and County Quick Facts, U.S. Census Bureau
- Library of Congress: BeOnline Statistics
- Uncle Sam Federal Databases
- US Social Security Office
- SSA Office of Policy
- US Social Security Office – Research and Analysis
- Pentagon Facts and Figures
- US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Subject-Specific US Government Facts, Figures, and Statistics
- Health and Disease:
- Economics, Employment and Labor:
- Education and Literacy:
- Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
- National Center for Education Statistics
- National Assessments of Adult Literacy
- Census Scope: Education Attainment
- Child Trends Data Bank
- Fast Facts for Literacy
- FairData – Community-based Mapping and Data Solutions for Education, Environment, Housing, and Poverty-related Issues
- Crime:
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime and Justice Data Online
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
- Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reports
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service
- US Criminal Justice Statistics Web Sites from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service
- Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Victimization in the United States
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime and Victim Statistics
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime and Justice Electronic Data Abstracts
- Office of National Drug Control Policy Drug Facts
- Bureau of Justice Statistics Criminal Justice System Flowchart
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration National Center for Statistics and Analysis
- Military:
Global and International Government Facts, Figures, and Statistics
- Robert Niles – Statistics Every Writer Should Know
- World Heritage Center
- United Nations
- United Nations – Wikipedia
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Statistics Division
- United Nations – Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights
- Official WEB Site Locator for the UN System of Organizations (site map for the UN)
- aneki.com – Rankings and Records from Countries of the World
- US Library of Congress – Country Studies (international)
- Canadian Government – Cultural Profiles (international)
- UK government – Directgov
- Eurochambres Chamber of Commerce
- Flag Detective
- Fast Facts – Almanacs, Factbooks, Statistical Reports, and Related Reference Tools
- CIA World Fact Book
- Population Reference Bureau
- UK Statistics Sources
- National Statistics – the official UK statistics site
- Flags of All Countries
- United Nations Population Information Network
- InfoNation compares UN data on international countries
- UNICEF Statistics
- World Chambers of Commerce
- InterScience Scientific References
Maps: Where is It?
If I’m going to write about a geographical location, I need to know where it is and what’s near it and in it. I use Google Maps and sometimes, Yahoo! Maps, but I also use some other map and geographical sites:
- USGS – Geographic Names Information System’s Place Find
- Place Names on the Internet
- Earth Resource System
- Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
- University of Texas – Map Collection
- US State Symbols, Flags, Capitals, Maps, Songs
- Virtual Guidebooks
- 50states.com – States and Capitals
- Wikitravel
Researching the Laws
If you need to find a law to back up what you are writing, then you need to research the laws. My research is usually confined to US and some international law issues over copyright, plagiarism, GPL, freedom of speech, and more blog related laws. Some of my law resources include:
General US Law
- US Freedom of Information Center
- Thomas Guide to Pending US Congressional Legislation
- BitLaw – Resource on Technology Law
- GigaLaw.com Daily News (feed)
- Internet Legal Resource Guide
- The National Law Journal Court Opinions – Finding Court Opinions on the Web
- Lawguru
- Legal Lexicon: Terms, Definitions and Explanations
- Law Dictionary and Legal Encyclopedia
- Legal Explanations
- Links for Legal Researchers
- National Library of Law
- Legal Encyclopedia
- Legalese: Eschew, Evade or Eradicate It
- United States Code
Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Licensing
- Journalism Internet Resources on Media Law
- Creative Commons
- Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center
- Writers, Artists, and their Copyright Holders (WATCH)
- Media Law
- Intellectual Property Law and Technology: Copyrights, Trademarks, & Patents
- US Copyright Office
- The UK Patent Office – Copyright – Definition
- Creative Commons GNU General Public License
- The GNU General Public License – GNU Project
- GPL Licenses for the Open Source Initiative
International Law
- LawMoose – Internet Law Library (US and global law)
- Laws of Nations of the World
- Internet Law Web
- Internet Legal Resources
Internet Statistics, Facts, and Figures
There are a lot of people who claim to have the facts and figures on Internet traffic and statistics, but I’ve found many of them are quickly out-of-date and not verifiable. The following resources are fairly consistent and supported with good documentation and research for reporting on Internet statistics, facts, and figures. If they don’t have the information on their site, I’ll call or email them for specifics. It helps to know where to turn to when you need the information for your blog writing.
- Cooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis
- National Consumer League’s US National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch
- US Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
- Official Statistics on the Web
- Internet Traffic Report
- Internet Domain Survey
- The Internet Society
- Netcraft Web Hosting and Server Statistics and Comparisons
- W3 Schools – Browser Statistics
- OneStat Browser Stastistics
- TheCounter.com Global Browser and Website Statistics
- W3 Counter Browser Statistics
- Wikipedia – Usage Share of Web Browsers
Medical Terminology and References
I do a lot of work with the disabled and blog about web standards for accessibility, which takes me full-tilt into names of medical problems dealing with eyesight, hearing, and the disabled.
Not all medical information posted online is valid nor clinically verifiable, so I often refer to the guidelines on Medical Library Association – A User’s Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web.
I use the following resources to look up and reference medical terminology and anatomical descriptions.
- Diseases Database
- Medical Glossary.org
- MedTerms – Medical Terms and Definitions
- Deciphering Medspeak
- National Institute of Health (NIH)
- National Library of Medicine (NLM)
- NLM MEDLINE plus
- Atlas of the Human Body
- Health Medicine Refdesk.com
- Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- CDC Injury Fact Book
- US National Center for Health Statistics
Historically Speaking
If you are going to make a reference to a historical event or person, it helps to get your facts right. The Best of History is a site for educators, especially for those in the K-12 system, but I love it for its quick references to historical events which helps me fact check my writing references to history. It’s a portal site with links to a ton of websites specializing in the different areas of history. It also features websites with public domain free digital images, photographs and artwork from throughout history.
Repositories of Primary Sources lists over 5000 sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary research sources. If I’m really digging into history, this site helps me track down very elusive material.
Not all historical reference websites cover the same parts of history, so I also use:
- U.S. Department of Energy’s Decades of Discovery
- EyeWitness to History
- Encyclopedia of World History
- The History Net: Today In History
In the next blogging resources article in this series, I’ll cover business and professional online resources for blogger and writers that I’ve found and use frequently.
Blog Resources Article Series
- Where Do You Go For Your Blog Research and References?
- Blogging Resources and Sources to Help You Blog
- Blog Resources for English Language and Blog Writing
- Blog Resources: Researching the Research, Finding the Facts, and Seeking Supporting Evidence
Site Search Tags: blogging tips, blog writing, writing tips, writing, writing resources, blog resources, how to write, how to blog, facts, statistics, fact checking, verification, validation, internet facts, government facts, government resources, laws, copyright laws, research laws, medical terms, history facts, historical facts, research history, historical research, medical terminology, medical information, medical resources, government facts, government statistics, news contacts, media sources, newspapers, genealogy
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Copyright Lorelle VanFossen, the author of Blogging Tips, What Bloggers Won't Tell You About Blogging.
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9 Comments
Wow, what a great resource you’ve put up here. Thanks!
Thank you for a great list of resources. I am a big believer in verifying information before passing it along to others. After many e-mails outlining everything from virus threats to attacks by individuals being initiated into gangs, I started on a crusade to educate family members. The end result was reducing the garbage in my in-box significantly.
Writing a blog comes with a certain amount of responsibility to not add to misinformation that’s out there. It is getting more and more challenging to track down factual information because there is so much out there that is plain lies. Thank goodness for the sites dedicated to setting the record straight.
Excellent list of resources, I’m definitely going to include it on my random thoughts post in a few days.
I would be extremely cautious using any US Government health and safety website due to the politicization of scientific information in the past 8 years. It really is no longer reliable.
Thats a huge list with tons of data. Thanks for putting it up. I wonder where I can find some fitness related info here.
How do you go about obtaining quotes from experts in what you are writing? I always see magazines quote authors and experts. I find it very hard to find the right person to get a quote.
@ Anna:
Bloggers quote experts from what they say on their blogs, which if used within Fair Use and clearly designated as a quote with a linking citation, is good enough and needs no permission.
There are many sites that offer access to experts, usually for a fee, but I find that if I’m hunting for an expert, I hit the search engines and find the expert there. I contact them through whatever means they offer and hopefully, they will respond.
It’s not hard to find someone to quote. It’s often hard to get them to say anything worth quoting. 😀
Wow, Lorelle…What a treasure trove! I am definitely bookmarking this post so I can come back and bookmark some of these links! 🙂
awesome.. thanx…
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