Supporting Your Ideas: Glossary

GLOSSARY

Bias

The predisposition toward a particular viewpoint.

Boolean Operators

Words and symbols that illustrate the relationship between search terms and help the search engine expand or limit results.

Expert Testimony

Testimony that comes from a recognized authority who has conducted extensive research on an issue.

Interlibrary Loan

The process of borrowing materials through one library that belong to another library.

Lay Testimony

Any testimony based on witnesses’ opinions or perceptions in a given case

Parity

Similarity of information across sources.

Personal Testimony

An individual’s story concerning his or her lived experience, which can be used to illustrate the existence of a particular event or phenomenon.

Rapport

A cordial relationship between two or more people in which both parties convey respect and understanding for one another.

Search Engine

Software which uses algorithms to scan an index of existing Internet content for particular terms, and then ranks the results based on their relevance.

Source Credibility

Signs that a person is offering trustworthy information.

Specific Purpose Statement

A sentence summarizing the main idea, or claim, which the speech will support. It should be stated clearly toward the beginning of the speech.

Style Guide

An established set of standards for formatting written documents and citing sources for information within the document.