Finding and Evaluating Internet Sources

Deep Web or Invisible Web

For scholarly research use the QCC Alden Library databases as well as other guides that lead you to the Deep Web or the Invisible Web--the part of the web that remains "hidden" to many users. It refers to countless databases that may be excluded from many popular search services for various reasons. The Deep Web is actually a fluid term as search services such as Google improve their ability to index information. For a detailed explanation see

Barker, Joe. "Invisible or Deep Web: What it is, Why it exists, How to find it, and its inherent ambiguity." August 2006. UC Berkley Library. <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/InvisibleWeb.html>

Bergman, Michael K. "The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value." The Journal of Electronic Publishing 7.1 (August 2001). <http://www.press.umich.edu/jep/07-01/bergman.html>

And try these sites for academic searches of the Web:

Google Scholar

Infomine Scholarly Internet research collections

Internet Public Library

Librarian's Internet Index (LII.org) Under Computers>Internet, see Internet Guides

"Research Beyond Google: 119 Authoritative, Invisible, and Comprehensive Resources." 26 Oct. 2006. Online Education Database. <http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/research-beyond-google>

VoS - Voice of the Shuttle: web site for humanities research from UC Santa Barbara

Checklist for evaluating a source

Clear purpose and awareness of audience
A user should not have to struggle to recognize the site's focus and intended audience; look for a clear title, a site guide, a mission statement or an "about us" link.
Authorship
Can you identify an individual and/or institution responsible for the site? What credibility or special knowledge does the author have? Also look for an email address or contact information. If no author is listed, check the home page of the site.
(If you see no link to the site home page, go to the address box of the browser and remove all information after the first single forward slash in the URL; then hit the enter key.)
Bibliography of sources or additional web resources
Does the site list any sources for the information presented and provide links to online sources?
Bias or Objectivity
Especially for commercial sites, note if the writer or organization has a special interest in the issue presented. Is the writer biased?
Completeness of coverage
Does the site attempt to be comprehensive or does it cover a specific aspect or time period of the topic? If you have limited knowledge of the subject, use a source from a recognized publication (or one that's peer-reviewed--a scholarly journal) for verification, or check the validity of other sites that are linked. Also compare the information to what you find in scholarly journals or newpapers via QCC Alden Library online databases.
Currency
Look for a publication date on the main page of the site if it's not on the section you've found. If the material is not current, is it useful for your research.
Ease of Navigation
Is the site easy to read and clearly organized with navigational links? Does the design serve the function of the site? Does the writer understand accepted standards of web authoring?

For a slide presentation see Evaluating Internet Sources.

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