Looking into Infinity: Using the Deep Web as a

Pedagogical Tool

Erik Radioetradio1@gmail.com

LOEX 2014Grand Rapids, MI

Caspar David Friedrich, The Wanderer Above a Sea of Mist, around 1818

http://www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/index.php/19th_Century.html

What is the Deep Web?

“...a mysterious El Dorado of content wealth, rich beyond measure when compared to ordinary fare delivered by search engines such as Google.”

-Spencer, B. (2007). Harnessing the deep web: A practical plan for locating free specialty databases on the web. Reference Services Review, 35(1), 71-83.

What is the Deep Web?

“Not only its estimated size is hundreds of times larger than that of the surface web, but also it provides users with high quality information.”

-Zheng, Q., Wu, Z., Cheng, X., Jiang, L., & Liu, J. (2013). Learning to Crawl the Deep Web. Information Systems, 38(6), 801-819. doi:10.1016/j.is.2013.02.001

Piet Mondrian,Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow. 1937-42

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A4057&page_number=17&template_id=1&sort_order=1

Willem de Kooning,…Whose Name was Writ in Water, 1975

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artwork/997

Piet Mondrian,Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow. 1937-42

http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A4057&page_number=17&template_id=1&sort_order=1

Search Engines:A Very Brief Overview

• Web Crawlers• Indexing• Retrieval• Display

www.henrirousseau.net

Deep Web Barriers

• Isolation• Paywalls & Permissions• Metadata• Granularity• Dynamic Pages

Every Search Engine creates its own Deep Web.

Authority is Constructed and Contextual

19 terabytes in the Surface Web

7,500 terabytes in the Deep Web

c. 2001

Bergman, M. The Deep Web: Surfacing Hidden Value. Taking License. 7(1)

Finding the Deep Web

• Access Points– Ephemeral in Nature– www.deepweblibrary.wordpress.com

• Search Engines!• Deep Web

Searching the Deep Web

• Abandon Google Query Structures• Modify Google Queries to a few keywords– Sound familiar?

• Deep Web = Library Resources

Teaching the Deep Web

• Method 1: Workshop– Search Engines in the Internet Landscape• Failures to Indexing• Brainstorming

– Introduce Deep Web– Restructuring Queries– Demonstrate Deep Web Engines• Open Searching• Assess

Teaching the Deep Web

• Method 2: Embedded– Integrate into standard instructional sessions• Introduce the Deep Web• Contextualize Searching

• Search Isn’t Simple• Search is Strategic

• Devine, Jane,Egger-Sider, Francine. (2009) Going beyond Google : the Invisible Web in learning and teaching. New York : Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

• Devine, Jane,Egger-Sider, Francine. (2014) Going beyond Google again : Strategies for using and teaching the Invisible Web. Chicago: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.

Pedagogical Goals

• Inform students on the information landscape– Broad and Complex

• How Search Engines Work– Mostly Not Magic

• Reinforce Search Strategies– Query Structures

• Library as Deep Web Engine

THANKS!

www.deepweblibrary.wordpress.com

etradio1@gmail.com