Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.govwww.ftc.gov Prepared by Brooke P.
LS-557-W1Fall 2010 Semester
Table of Contents Table of Contents Menu ButtonsMenu Buttons
Scope of FTC resource
History and Background
How to search the FTC web site
Using the Advanced Search option
Exploring the Consumer Information category
Exploring the Business Information category
Using the Quick Finder box
Strengths andweaknesses
Using the tabs at the top of the screen
Using the basic search box
Conclusion
Unique features
Scope of FTC resourceScope of FTC resource
• Covers business and legal information geared toward both consumers and companies
• Includes reports from as far back as the early 20 th century to content published as recent as 2010
• Offers information in various forms of publication such as cases, news releases, proceedings, reports, rules, speeches, and guides
History and backgroundHistory and background
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an agency that has been around since 1914.
• The FTC is devoted to reaching out to consumers and protecting them from bad business practices.
• It strives to make sure that businesses abide by laws and rules and conduct business fairly.
Unique featuresUnique features
• The FTC web resource has an edge over The FTC web resource has an edge over other legal and business databases other legal and business databases particularly since it features a particularly since it features a tag cloudtag cloud as well as several as well as several micrositesmicrosites. .
• What also makes this resource stand out What also makes this resource stand out is that it allows for is that it allows for user interactionuser interaction. For . For example, consumers can report example, consumers can report complaints through this resource.complaints through this resource.
Strength and weaknessesStrength and weaknesses
• As you’ve seen, the FTC website is strong in providing reputable information in an organized fashion.
• Another strength of the resource is that it’s updated frequently and it’s visually pleasing.
• However, the resource could be even more helpful if it featured a controlled vocabulary thesaurus as well as icons for saving or printing on the results pages.
ConclusionConclusion
You’ve seen thus far that the FTC web site is a very in-depth resource that is fairly easy to navigate. Whether the user is a consumer or a business professional, this resource is definitely the resource to turn to especially since it’s highly organized and teeming with authoritative and up-to-date information.
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