Going beyond Google: the invisible web in teaching and learning

Jane Devine, Francine Egger-Sider, Development Librarian
2009 unpublished
The problems of searching the invisible web have been covered for some time in information literacy sessions at Lincoln University, so this book was an immediate candidate for investigation. The unfortunate reliance on general-purpose search engines has become somewhat accepted nowadays, but that does not mean the problem has diminished-though, as the authors state in their preface, 'the gap between the visible and the invisible web is definitely narrowing'. For this reason the book is firmly
more » ... actical as well as theoretical and the subtitle gives the clue: 'the invisible web in teaching and learning'. To this end, the authors set out their intention to: '... fundamentally change the "research process" as currently undertaken by students and redirect learners toward information beyond that found through general-purpose search engines.' The book's first part investigates the nature of the visible and invisible web, and explains the issues with clarity. The familiar litany of students' almost total reliance on certain web search engines is presented , as well as their mainly false assumptions about quality, coverage and worth. This gap in understanding is supported by the results of some user studies in the US that are quoted in the book; the need to disabuse students about their reliance on these engines is still evident. In pursuit of this aim, the second part of the book gives examples of strategies to excavate the invisible web, using web directories and vertical and specialised search engines, and it touches on new
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