Searching Counterpedia
Reader outcome
Search for the Statue of Liberty, identify the result type, open the NPS explanation, and record the source used to answer the color question.
Our question and sources
Why is the Statue of Liberty green?
Enter Statue of Liberty, select the monument, read the NPS document on its copper surface, and record the document citation. Then compare what the historical photograph adds.
The National Park Service FAQ describes oxidation and the development of the green patina. The NPS facts page provides a companion material description. Both pages are from the same publisher; their agreement is not independent corroboration. These links open the external NPS documents.
Before you begin
You need only the ordinary phrase Statue of Liberty. Publicly accessible subjects and source references may be read without private research access. Other objects, privately saved work and live external-source actions retain their own account and permission requirements.
1. Search using an ordinary name
Open Counterpedia’s Search experience, enter Statue of Liberty, and read the returned groupings. Select the result that identifies the monument on Liberty Island. The known Wikidata subject identifier is Q9202, but you do not need it to start.
Before following a link, inspect what kind of match you have:
| Result type | Useful for | Does not automatically establish |
|---|---|---|
| Subject or entity | Exploring the statue and related concepts | All statements about it are true or assessed |
| Document or source reference | Reaching an identified publication or edition | The content has been retained or admitted |
| Provider observation | Learning what a connected dataset reports | The dataset’s claims have been verified |
| Source Record | Inspecting documentary identity and recorded destinations | A retained copy or a completed assessment exists |
Read the destination’s identity, attribution, and scope before using it as a source. A subject match, a reference, and a retained document serve different tasks.
2. Open a source reference
Open the Statue of Liberty subject. Confirm that it represents the monument, not a person, a replica, or a historical photo that merely mentions it. Identify any connected places, creator information and source references.
Inspect the subject’s source references for the exterior material. Read the National Park Service FAQs and Statue of Liberty facts. The links here open the publisher directly. Record whether you reached the document through a subject reference or through this guide’s external link.
Read the NPS passage describing the copper exterior and green patina. Compare it with the result snippet before writing your explanation. Attribute the material description to NPS; a snippet, an imported observation, and a Counterpedia assessment are separate records.
Expected result: a citation identifying the NPS document and the passage used for the color explanation.
3. Ask what another source adds
Open the Library of Congress historic photograph record. It identifies a photograph of the monument dating to 1905, with its own collection, contributor and rights statement.
A historical photograph can help you explore how the statue appeared and how it was documented; it does not alone explain the chemistry of the patina. The NPS explanation and the Library of Congress image are complementary sources with different functions, not two votes on the same proposition.
For a structured knowledge route, a separate Wikidata item Q9202 identifies the monument and its relationships. Wikidata’s item is a provider observation context, not a reason to infer that every linked document has been independently checked.
4. Refine the search
Try searching Liberty Enlightening the World, the monument’s formal name, or Statue of Liberty copper. A more specific query may help locate a document or a subject without requiring a record identifier.
If the results are ambiguous, compare names, locations and object types. A replica or incidental reference is not interchangeable with the original monument. If no match appears, broaden the query or inspect another collection; an empty search does not prove global absence.
If you have a precise document URL or identifier, you can look it up directly, but this is an alternative, not the first step required of new readers.
5. Extend deliberately to external source search
Catalogue search and live source search are separate operations. For live source search, review the provider, query, and access requirements, then submit the request.
Use Statue of Liberty copper patina National Park Service as the query. Inspect the provider response and its source URLs. Receiving a live result is separate from registering a source, retaining a copy, running Check, or obtaining permission to redistribute the material.
If the request is refused or fails, retain the error and use the NPS link above to read the document directly. That external visit is separate from the provider request.
6. Record source and version details
| What to keep | This walkthrough |
|---|---|
| Subject | Statue of Liberty — monument on Liberty Island |
| Question | Why is it green? |
| Original publisher explanation | NPS FAQs |
| Supporting publisher facts | NPS material facts |
| Historical comparison | 1905 Library of Congress photograph |
| Identity for further graph exploration | Wikidata Q9202 |
| Counterpedia return path | Record the exact result and edition you actually opened |
A live publisher page may change. A frozen edition or retained capture, when legitimately available, has a different identity and temporal scope. Save whichever you actually used, without substituting an inferred record.
7. Finish the research task
The research task is complete when you can explain, in your own words, that the Statue of Liberty’s copper exterior turned green through oxidation, and point to the National Park Service page supporting that explanation.
Optional tutorials
The main procedure does not require these exercises. Choose a tutorial for a field-level comparison, or skip to the closing explanation below.
| Tutorial | Output |
|---|---|
| Distinguish a subject from documents about it | Two-object identity comparison and the connecting reference |
| Separate a reference, document, and retained copy | Document/reference/retention comparison and a version-specific citation |
Skip the optional exercise and read the closing explanation.
Tutorial: Distinguish a subject from documents about it
Compare a Douglas Adams subject result with a document that refers to him. Produce a record of the two identities and the explicit link between them.
Starting material
Use the name Douglas Adams to find the subject. The external Wikidata identifier Q42 can help disambiguate the person; it is not automatically an identifier accepted by every Counterpedia interface. Select one document from a reference attached to that subject. Keep the subject and the document open separately.
1. Identify the subject result
Record the displayed name, object type, originating dataset, exact subject identifier, and the address you opened. Record a release or version identifier when the view supplies one. An alias explains a name match; it does not create a second subject.
Expected result: you can distinguish the subject from another result with similar words in its title.
2. Follow the recorded reference
Open one reference attached to a particular statement. Record that statement’s identity or location, then record the document’s title, publisher, address, and any supplied document or edition identifier. Identify the provider that supplied the reference separately from the publisher of the document.
If the reference does not resolve, keep its exact locator and record the failed lookup. Do not substitute a similarly titled page and describe it as the original reference.
3. Compare the two objects
| Field | Subject | Referenced document |
|---|---|---|
| Object type | The subject described by the result | The publication or document opened |
| Identifier | Exact identifier in its originating system | Exact document identifier, or the locator when that is all that is supplied |
| Version | Release or record version supplied by the subject view | Document edition or date supplied by the document view |
| Origin | Dataset or record owner | Publisher; separately, the reference provider |
| Relationship | Statement or reference through which you navigated | Destination of that reference |
A document can be about the person without being the person’s subject record. A document title containing the person’s name does not establish an identity equivalence between them.
4. Compare an identifier lookup
Use Q42 with the documented identifier search and compare the result with the name search. Compare identifiers and origins, not just titles. A lookup through another client must use that client’s documented identifier format; do not pass a QID as an unrelated record ID.
Output and completion check
Keep the completed comparison, the two addresses, and the statement-level reference connecting them. The exercise is complete when another reader can reopen each object and explain which one represents the person and which one is a document about the person. A failed reference remains visible in the output; it is not a failed attempt to identify the subject.
Apply the procedure elsewhere
Repeat the comparison for Eotyrannus using one of its recorded references. Keep the same fields. Change the example inputs, not the identity rules.
Return to Searching Counterpedia, or continue with reading a qualified statement.
Continue
You can follow the monument’s relationships in Browsing the knowledge universe, examine the historical photo in Exploring sources and references, or save and cite your findings. You need not run Check to complete this discovery. If you choose to assess a particular statement, the separate Check tutorial covers the complete assessment and receipt.