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Plan your Search

Open Access

Google Advanced Search can help you find resources  licensed under a Creative Commons license.

  1. Go to  Google Advanced Search;
  2. Plug in your keywords or phrases;
  3. At the bottom of the search page, find the "usage rights" field;
  4. Change this field to "free to use share or modify;" 
  5. The results page should show only resources licensed under a Creative Commons license;
  6. Verify license and determine exact terms of use.

Google Scholar can help you find resources  licensed under a Creative Commons license.

  1. Go to  Google Scholar;
  2. Type in your keywords or phrases;
  3. The results page shows you the resource type on the right. Only check for articles with a PDF text link.
  4. Most but not all results are licensed under a Creative Commons license;
  5. Verify license and determine exact terms of use.

OERCommons Search can help you find resources licensed under a Creative Commons license.

  1. Go to OERCommons;
  2. Search by keyword, Subject or Educational Level;
  3. Use the Filters t narow your results. Al items are licensed under a Creative Commons license.

 (Formally Creative Commons) 

  1. Go to openverse
  2. Enter your keyword or phrase;
  3. At the top of the page, select "I want something that I can modify, adapt, or built upon;"
  4. Determine what type of content you're looking for (e.g., text, video, or images) and select a source (e.g., Flickr for images). For all possible formats, choose Google/Web;
  5. After finding a resource you're interested in, look for a license agreement.

Note: Creative Commons offers licenses with various degrees of openness. The most open license is CC0.

YouTube Search can help you find videos licensed under a Creative Commons license.

  1. Go to YouTube;
  2. Search by keyword;
  3. Use the Filters feature to filter your search results to videos licensed under a Creative Commons license.
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