ConserveOnline. Access: http://conserveonline.org/

Susanne Clement, Utah State University, susanne.clement@usu.edu

Don’t be discouraged by the homepage. You will quickly find that ConservationOnline (created and maintained by The Nature Conservancy) is an open access repository of hard-to-find conservation research, data, and applications.

The Web site consists of the following main sections: “Home,” “About,” “People,” “Workspaces,” “Library,” “Publishing,” and “Subscribe.” The majority of the content is retrievable through a main search box located on the homepage as well as on each of the subsequent pages. You will need to register to get the full use of the site. The process is quick, easy, and free.

The meat of the Web site is in the “Work-spaces” and “Library” sections. “Workspaces” will create individual Web sites for environmental or conservation projects and members can post preliminary data, documents, maps, etc. Each project in “Workspaces” is organized into Members, Calendar, Discussion, Files and Pages, and Blog. All “Work-spaces” content is organized by regions/countries or by search terms. Users will want to sort by region, which is more useful than sorting by subject terms. For subject access, use the search box on the top left side instead. Search results have icons next to them, so it is easy to identify a project Web site from a document, spreadsheet, PowerPoint, or PDF.

The “Library” section is for completed projects, and documents in this section are given a Digital Object Identifier. Initial organization is not that clear: on the top right is a drop-down browse feature that filters by recently added content, authors, or subject terms. The filtered results are listed in an A to Z format, which is not very useful considering there are nearly 2,000 records.

The “Publishing” section explains how to contribute research to the project. Publishing is free, but the site is working on a fee-based option that will include peer review, meta-data creation, etc.

ConservationOnline, with a little work, could bring great rewards for researchers and students interested in national and international conservation research, programs, and practical applications.

HumanTrafficking.org. Access: http://humantrafficking.org/.

Brad Matthies, Butler University, bmatthie@butler.edu

The HumanTrafficking.org Web site was created in 2001 due to a mandate by the 2000 Asian Regional Initiative Against Trafficking (ARIAT) meeting. The participants sought to promote collaboration between countries, government, business, and non-profit organizations interested in combating human trafficking. Part of this collaboration included a robust Web presence—ergo, the HumanTraffic.org Web site was created. From 2001 to 2008 the site was supported by the U.S. Department of State. It is now maintained by the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, D.C.

This Web site focuses on human trafficking in the East Asia and Pacific regions. First and foremost it serves as a portal for country-specific information pertaining to national laws, strategic plans, and organizational contact information.

The site’s greatest strength is that it organizes information pertaining to human trafficking from 19 countries. Thus, the site does a good job of serving as a virtual index of contact information and country policies.

In addition, the site also boasts a nice sampling of country-specific information. Each of the featured countries contains a description of the state of human trafficking in that country, relevant laws, best practices, and a listing of additional resources.

As is the case with many similar portal sites, there are some dead links. However, overall the site is well maintained—though it is far from comprehensive. It is probably best consulted in tandem with more comprehensive research sources that follow this subject.

The only real criticism is that the site refers to various U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Reports, which are freely available from the U.S. Department of State’s Web site, yet the references are not linked to that particular site. So the would-be researcher of this topic has to conduct the extra step of tracking those citations down via their favorite search engine. This site offers resources that will be of greatest use to practitioners in nonprofit and civic organizations, as well as charitable foundations.

National Center for Education Statistics. Access: http://www.nces.ed.gov/.

Debbi Renfrow, Riverside Community College District, debbi34@gmail.com

When looking for educational statistics, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences sponsored site, is an ideal starting point. Rich with data, this site offers substantial statistics and analysis on issues related to education within the United States and other nations.

The data made freely available through NCES have a wide array of potential uses by a variety of researchers. From students needing statistics to federal agencies determining funding priorities to the general public wanting to be informed on issues regarding education, the information available through this site is invaluable.

The navigation at the top of the home-page, as well as the search function on the site, simplify the process of locating what the researcher needs. The categories on the site include “Publications & Products,” “Surveys & Programs,” “Data Tools,” “Tables & Figures,” “Fast Facts,” “School, College, & Library Search,” “Annual Reports,” as well as a “What’s New” and “About Us” section. Within these categories are some unique features. The publications section of the site offers an advanced search page, including search by author, title, date, as well as product type such as statistical analysis report or a working paper. Additionally, users can browse through recent publications such as Academic Preparation for College in the High School Senior Class of 2003-04, released January 20, 2010, or through data products for the last six months. Under “Data Tools,” users can build custom tables and datasets. The tools provided through the site, such as the Education Data Analysis Tool, allow users to export the data into formats, such as SPSS or ASCII. However, if you’re just looking for the latest up-to-date news on education, “What’s New” offers snapshots on topics such as Education Technology in Public Schools or Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2009.

NCES is also user friendly for children, offering a “Kids’ Zone” section. Children can play skill-building games in math, graphing, or probability, or try to answer mind-bending questions. Moreover, the “Kids’ Zone” will help children learn facts about their specific school, find a public library, or decide on a college.

Even if not conducting academic research, NCES offers a wealth of information useful for current news about federal and state funding of education, school enrollments, technological trends, and much more.