Totem

Desk Research (Totem)

Offered by Totem project,

Outsmart your search engine. In this course on Desk Research for journalism, you will gain knowledge on best ways to use the Internet to collect data for investigations, including: finding documents and numbers; optimizing your Google Search results; and searching for specific sources.

Why should you take this course?Data collection is an important part of journalism and investigations. It allows you to move beyond opinions and unverified facts as well as to investigate and substantiate a story with data from official databases, including a range of viewpoints from different sources.

What will you learn?
You will come away from this course understanding:

How to conduct intelligent research online research on databases, people and sources * Best practices and tips for conducting information research beyond a Google search
How to search and extract data contained in local, national and international databases.

Totem is an online platform that offers interactive courses to learn how to increase digital security and privacy. The optimal user experience is currently on your desktop computer. The aim is to support journalists, human rights defenders and activists use privacy tools and tactics more effectively in their work. Not a journalist? Don’t worry these courses should work for everyone.
Start today and learn how to protect yourself online.

Go to Class

MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of London,SOAS University of London

Understanding Research Methods (Coursera)

Engineering Sci: Physical & Earth Sciences

This MOOC is about demystifying research and research methods. It will outline the fundamentals of doing research, aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at the postgraduate level. It places the student experience at the centre of our endeavours by engaging learners in a range of robust and challenging discussions and exercises befitting SOAS, University of London's status as a research-intensive university and its rich research heritage.

Jun 1st 2026

4 Weeks

Planning Research Methods Research

Coursera

University of California, Davis

Google SEO Fundamentals (Coursera)

Management & Leadership Marketing & Communication

Gain an understanding of search engine algorithms and how they affect organic search results and websites. Building on this knowledge, you’ll learn the key elements for creating an effective SEO strategy, including how to select keywords and perform keyword research; consumer psychology and search behavior; and how to conduct on-page SEO analysis to identify opportunities to improve a website’s search optimization.

Jun 1st 2026

4 Weeks

Marketing SEO Social Media

Totem

Totem project

Field Research (Totem)

CS: Information & Technology Personal and Professional Development

Why field research matters (case study Iran). This course on Field Research for journalists can be taken independently or in tandem with the course on desk research in the field of journalism. The goal of this course is to help address risks inherent in conducting field investigations in a repressive environment. The course is designed for all knowledge levels to help you learn how to gather firsthand evidence, document events, obtain information from experts and interview local residents.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Online Technology Communication

Totem

Totem project

Social Media Research (Totem)

Security & Networking

Going undercover on Instagram. In this course on Social Media Research, you can learn more about finding images, videos, audio recordings and new information on social media, which will expand your perspectives and support existing information and narratives.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Technology Communication Safety

Coursera

University of Amsterdam

Introduction to Communication Science (Coursera)

Social Sciences

Since Antiquity, scholars have appreciated the importance of communication: as social beings, we cannot exist without communication. We need to interact with people around us, to make sense of the world and to position ourselves in a wider social and cultural reality. In this course, we look at how and why communication evolved as a science and reflect on today’s dominant paradigms. The course also extends beyond the boundaries of communication science itself, exploring dimensions of history, sociology and psychology. Join our class, together with people all over the world.

Jun 1st 2026

4 Weeks

Communication Communication Science Coursera Plus

Coursera

University of California, San Diego

Social Computing (Coursera)

Social Sciences

People are social creatures and the modern Internet reflects that. Technology has made collaboration at a distance possible in new ways that present their own set of challenges. This course will introduce you to the major challenges and opportunities for creating online communities. What does the future hold? Learn how social computing can create collaboration experiences that go beyond what’s possible face to face.

Jun 1st 2026

3 Weeks

Technology Interaction Design Social Media

Coursera

University of California, San Diego

Teaching Impacts of Technology: Data Collection, Use, and Privacy (Coursera)

Education

In this course you’ll focus on how constant data collection and big data analysis have impacted us, exploring the interplay between using your data and protecting it, as well as thinking about what it could do for you in the future. This will be done through a series of paired teaching sections, exploring a specific “Impact of Computing” in your typical day and the “Technologies and Computing Concepts” that enable that impact, all at a K12-appropriate level.

Jun 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Education Computing Technology

Coursera

ESSEC Business School

Case studies in business analytics with ACCENTURE (Coursera)

Statistics & Data Analysis Data Science

This course is RESTRICTED TO LEARNERS ENROLLED IN Strategic Business Analytics SPECIALIZATION as a preparation to the capstone project. During the first two MOOCs, we focused on specific techniques for specific applications. Instead, with this third MOOC, we provide you with different examples to open your mind to different applications from different industries and sectors. The objective is to give you an helicopter overview on what's happening in this field. You will see how the tools presented in the two previous courses of the Specialization are used in real life projects.

Jun 1st 2026

3 Weeks

Healthcare Media Pharmaceutical

Totem

Totem project

How to bypass internet censorship (Totem)

CS: Information & Technology

How to stop censorship stopping you... and improve your online privacy and security. Across the world, the internet connects us to each other and to what sometimes seems like an unlimited amount of information. In some countries such as Iran, however, the internet is censored by the State. This means that internet filtering systems regulate what can be seen or published online.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Online Technology Encryption

Coursera

Michigan State University

Gathering and Developing the News (Coursera)

Art and Culture

Journalists develop information through interviews and sources. The most successful journalists quickly master these important skill sets. The production of journalism relies on several elements: newsgathering, interviewing sources, researching and trying to find as much information as possible. The course will also teach you how to where to find information, interviewing skills and how to process information from various sources for publication.

Jun 1st 2026

4 Weeks

Journalism News Reports Researching

Coursera

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Marketing in a Digital World (Coursera)

Marketing & Communication Business

This course examines how digital tools, such as the Internet, smartphones, and 3D printing, are revolutionizing the world of marketing by changing the roles and practices of both firms and consumers. Marketing in a Digital World is one of the most popular courses on Coursera with over 250,000 Learners and is rated by Class Central as one of the Top 50 MOOCs of All Time.

Jun 3rd 2026

4 Weeks

Marketing Internet Digital Tools

Coursera

University of Maryland, College Park

Surviving Disruptive Technologies (On Demand) (Coursera)

Management & Leadership

The purpose of this course is to help individuals and organizations survive when confronted with disruptive technologies that threaten their current way of life. We will look at a general model of survival and use it to analyze companies and industries that have failed or are close to failing. Examples of companies that have not survived include Kodak, a firm over 100 years old, Blockbuster and Borders.

Jun 1st 2026

4 Weeks

Business Management Economy