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04.2 Practice Search II: Invisible Web

When searching for information using Google or another search engine, you are searching a DATABASE of recorded information. There is a lot more information in digital form than Google, the largest of the search engine databases, can store. The amount of information in the largest database is just a fraction of what is believed to exist on the Internet. The majority of information is believed to exist in databases that Google, Yahoo, and the others cannot access.

When a search engine encounters a SEARCH BOX on a web site it cannot enter words and search a database. The information in the other database is INVISIBLE to the first search engine, hence the name Invisible Web.

Knowing where to find digital information is a critical location skill, which boils down to selecting the best database for the job. Oftentimes Google (or your favorite search engine) is good enough, but many times the information desired is invisible to Google.

The strategy to finding information on the invisible web is to think "what database would have this information?" It will still involve a search using a database-specific search engine. For example, if you want to find a science lesson for high school students that incorporates 21st Century Information Fluency skills, you'd want to look in the database on the 21st Century Information Fluency site. You would enter a search query in the search box there, rather than Google, to get your results. If you want to know more about lessons on the 12CIF site, look in the Lesson Plan repository.

Each search engine may have it's own nuances. While they may have similarities, they also may have significant differences. For example, one may only allow you to search dates from pull-down menus, others will offer pre-defined categories for searching and others will just present you with a blank search box. Knowing how to use a variety of search engines takes practice.

Ready for a Challenge?

Hurricanes

Find the TITLE and AUTHOR of a Margaret K. McElderry book (she's not the author) about famous hurricanes

Search History Tasks

Complete and save this Search History as Search History II, using the following steps and example.

1. Use the 21CIF Search Wizard to start searching for the answers.
2. Record the query terms and any operators you use in your searches
3. Note any optional features you applied, such as restricting the search to a single domain or language. There are many options available on the Search Wizard.
4. Keep track of the URLs you explore.

Place your completed Search History II in the Drop Box for Week 4 (3 points)

You may find this record keeping method especially helpful when you search large numbers of sites and then must go back and choose the sites to use in your work. Keeping a Search History retains all of your comments in reference to their respective URL's. The more descriptive your comments, the easier it is to choose the best resources.

Sample Search History table: These are the first four queries on one of the instructor's personal searches. As you may be able to tell, the quest is not over, but note the unexpected discovery in the fourth entry (comments). In 4 hours, your table should be significantly longer. Remember to record the secondary and deeper links on which you click as well as your primary links. You may save your document as a Word Document or an Excel Spreadsheet.