The Invisible Web and Infotrac

Mrs. KaneKeefe Technical School

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Objectives

• Free Web vs. Invisible

• The benefits to YOU of utilizing the right resource

• Do test searches for Senior Project time permitting…

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Ask yourself…

• Can your favorite search engine such as Google find all there is to find on the Web?

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It finds all we need to find, right guys?

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Think again…

• Search engines access a small part of the web, known as the “free web”

• A large portion of the web, inaccessible to the search engines, is known as the “invisible web”

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What’s not on the free web?

• Around 90% of the books on our library’s shelves, still under the protection of copyright

• The full-text of many magazine and newspaper articles

• Expensive reference books• Subscription encyclopedias• Subscription databases

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Isn’t the free stuff on the Web just as good?

And why can’t we get this

stuff for free?

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About the publishing biz:

• Authors are in the business of making money for their hard work

• Publishers expect a return on their investment

• Copyright laws protect “intellectual property” from theft

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Your teachers expect quality!

• Material from the subscription services: likely to be viewed as more authoritative

• You may have to defend some of the sources you find on the free Web (did anybody say Wikipedia?)

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Free Web databases!Say you are looking for information on any health issue for Senior Project: Alzheimer’s, Senior Health / Centers, TB, Physical Therapy, etc…)

You may find some good links on Google, for example…

But did you know there are hidden websites

DEVOTED to health issues?

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I’d like to see an example

of that!

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Free Web Databases!

• Try the following search:

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Look at all this great stuff!

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Wow!

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There is more? Oh, yes!

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Please remember…

• Search engines cannot pick up those links in that rich database because the database content is not searchable until you are actually in it.

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Some search tools for the Invisible Web

• Incy Wincy http://www.incywincy.com/• OAIster Search Interface

http://oaister.umdl.umich.edu/index.html• Pinakes Subject Launchpad• http://www.hw.ac.uk/libWWW/irn/pinakes/pina

kes.html• Searchability http://www.searchability.com/

But the Invisible Web is even bigger than those free databases!

It includes subscription, or proprietary databases too!

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Presenting:

A POWERFUL subscription database available at Keefe

Tech!!!

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Infotrac Overview• Multiple cross-searchable databases

• Use Reference Center Gold to find general information

• Use a field-specific database such as Health Reference Center Academic!

• Or…Choose the cross-searchable feature and let Infotrac do the work

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Using Infotrac

• We will be working with Health Reference Center Academic.

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Health Reference Center Academic

• Click on Health Reference Center Academic

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Four Search Options

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Basic Search• The Basic Search offers a simple way of

searching

• But, click on “More Search Options” to see what happens.

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Basic Search• Options for limiting your search:

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Basic Search Results• A search on Physical Therapy gives a list of

articles in date order. Choose results from the tabs for Academic Journals, Magazines, Reference, News or Multimedia.

• Click on link to an article or on “full-text” to display it

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Subject Guide Search

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Subject Guide Search• The Subject Guide lists all subjects in which

the words you searched for occur and the number of results

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Subject Guide Search• You may narrow by subdivision to find material

under more specific headings.

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Publication Search• A Publication Search allows you to search for

magazines, journals, newspapers, reference works, and other source materials by title.

• The screen with information about the publication lets you link to a specific issue.

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Advanced Search lets you…• Create focused searches using Boolean

operators (and, or, not)• Specify search terms such as keyword, author,

title, publication, word count, date, etc.• Search for information about Ronald McDonald

House and management, for example

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Results…

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How to Cite• The “How to Cite” feature allows users to create

citations in MLA or APA formats.

• You may copy and paste your citation.

Stein, Lisa. "Shake-Up in the Andes." U.S. News & World Report 138.23 (June 20, 2005): 13. General Reference Center Gold. Thomson Gale. Lakeview High School. 20 August 2005 <http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=GRGM&docId=A133196766&source=gale&userGroupName=lom_lakevhs&version=1.0>.

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Toolbar• A complete set of tools helps you use and retrieve

the information you find.

• An InfoMark lets you revisit a particular search or Web page result.

• A Print icon reformats an article for a printer-friendly version and saves space.

• There are options to email, download, mark and save a list of documents.

• You may access previous searches and recombine the results into new searches.

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• Infotrac allows the user to access a wealth of textual and graphic material.

• It is also possible to search across a number of databases!

• Infotrac is a valuable resource for the Keefe Tech Library

Infotrac Summary…

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Infotrac URL

• From School:

http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/mlin_m_keefe

• From Home, with your public library card:

http://www.mmrls.org/homeaccess.html

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What have we learned?

• Ways to UNCOVER THE INVISIBLE WEB

• Why it might be better for your research to consider a free or subscription database

• Infotrac is Keefe Tech’s subscription resource

Thank You!