Searching the Deep Web

The deep web is made up of all the Internet resources that cannot be retrieved through traditional search engines. Much of the deep web consists of information that is stored in databases. Search engines cannot find this information because the database dynamically generates a web page for every query. See this article for further explanation.

Luckily, there are approaches we can take for accessing information stored in the deep web:

Internet directories are sites that consist of a collection of links that are organized by a classification scheme to enable subject browsing.

• Librarians' Internet Index - This directory was created and is maintained by librarians. The sites are organized by Library of Congress Subject Headings (as is the University Libraries!).
• Infomine - A virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level.
• The Open Directory Project - The largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the web. It is constructed and maintained by volunteers'

Use Google and other search engines to locate searchable databases by including the word "database" in your search. For example, search "UFO and database" or "zombie and database."

If you would like to learn more about the deep web, please see Deep Web Research, a blog devoted to monitoring deep web research resources and sites on the Internet.