4. The Information Landscape: Thinking About What You Won't Find on the Open Web

This video series focuses on the "information landscape" as it pertains to college research. It is a work-in-progress. Your feedback is welcome.

Well, I thought all the information
was on the Internet.

Once upon a time...

All the information could be found in

books,

magazines, journals,

newspapers, and so on.

That's totally lame!

Well, the Internet is indeed a vast body of knowledge

that is truly useful to today's researchers,

but it does not include all the information.

It particularly does not offer free access

to the information college researchers have always relied on.

For example, it doesn't offer free access

to most peer-reviewed articles--

which are the articles written by experts.

But there are experts on the Internet!

It's up to you.

If you are serious about your college education,

it's a good idea to understand the difference between

the open web,

where all the free information is

and the invisible web,

where much of the information written and published by experts can be found.

FYI: the invisible web is just a fancy way of describing

information that cannot be accessed through search engines

such as Google and Yahoo.

This segment of the Internet

includes information available in research databases,

and this information is often password-protected.

Indeed, some of these databases are commercial products that require a subscription,

such as The New York Times Online

or Academic Search Premier.

I can read The New York Times on the Internet for free.

You can read selections from The New York Times for free.

but if you want comprehensive coverage...

or if you want access to their archives,

you'll need a subscription.

At the very least,

you'll need access to an institution

that has purchased a subscription on your behalf,

such as your college library...

even your public library!

Again, Google won't take you

to comprehensive coverage of The New York Times,

but your library website just might.

At this time the San Diego Public Library offers

its patrons access to

Proquest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times - 1851 to 2009.

And the Cuyamaca College Library offers

users access to EBSCO's Newspaper Source Plus,

which includes full-text newspaper articles

from around the country.

Of course both of these libraries

provide many more useful databases

that give their users access

to books and articles

they won't find on the open web.

Try Googling Cuyamaca Library

and then look the link,

"Articles and Databases: A to Z."

Special note:

You must be a student or a college employee

to access these databases.

If you Google

San Diego Public Libary

you'll find useful databases under "eCollection."

Don't forget,

you will need a library card

in order to access these resources.

Remember, research databases have become standard library fare.

You should expect to find them on almost all college library websites

as well as on larger public library websites.

And don't forget your libary's print collection,

even if you do think it belongs in the dinosaur days.

Who uses books nowadays?

They may seem outdated,

but it important to understand

that some relevant academic information

may still only be available to you in print formats.

Electronic databases are expensive.

So your library has had to make some tough choices

regarding the databases it chooses to make available.

Yet libraries still house useful information in their print collections,

information you won't be able to find on the Internet.

And while many newly published books

are now being released

in both print and electronic editions,

there are still plenty of useful books

that may only be availabe to you in hard copy.

This will be especially true

if your library hasn't been able to build

a large ebook collection.

What about Google Books?

If you determined to locate a useful ebook,

thereby passing up a trip to the library,

you should understand that most electronic editions

of books under copyright

are not going to be available for free

through Google or Yahoo.

Google Books, for example,

is far from comprehensive.

Here's a direct quote from the Google Books website:

Fiction: Google Books lets you download

any book in the world for free.

Fact: Google Books helps you search within

and discover books,

not download or read books without paying for them.

So you tell me,

where can I find some good ebooks?

In order to peruse a good ebook collection

for college research,

one that includes current books,

you will probably need to turn to

a library that offers one.

In the end,

the student who takes the time to track down

relevant books and articles

the student who learns how to use databases,

such as Academic Onefile

or EBSCO's ebook Collection,

may write a better paper

than the student who just finds a few links on the web.

What's not on the Internet...

for free, anyway?

Books under copyright.

Articles from subscription journals, magazines, and newspapers,

though you may find a smattering of what is truly available.

Many public records and other documents

created before the 1990s.

Sources not published in electronic editions.

You should understand that some of these sources

are particulalry useful

to college researchers.

Don't assume you will find the equivalent information through Google or Yahoo.

Remember,

when you do turn to the Internet for college research

try to keep in mind that it is not a seamless sea of information.

In other words,

not all the information on the Internet is equal.

And all the information is not on the Internet.

Sounds like a riddle.

Try to think about the differences between

the open web,

the web you search using Google or Yahoo,

which offers you access to anything anyone has ever decided to make available for free,

and traditionally pubished information--

books, journals, magazines and newspapers

which were produced by paid experts and professionals.

These sources may be available to you on the web for purchase

or for free though library databases.

Again, you will encounter selections of traditionally published information

on the open web for free,

such as current news appearing in respected newspapers,

or copies of books through Google Books.

Yet keep in mind

that you are only stumbling onto bits and pieces

of a vast body of knowledge worthy of being methodically surveyed for academic work.

If you only rely on what you can find

on the open web,

you will end up ignoring much of the work written by the experts.

In the end,

students who know where to locate organized, wide-ranging coverage

of the infomation and literature in their fields,

will be at an advantage over those who don't!