Deep Web Scientific &
Scholarly Databases
Updated March 15, 2014
Evelyn Smith
MS in Library Science, University of North Texas (2012)
Evelyn Smith
Ph. D. in English, Texas Christian University (1995)
Although Google Scholar is a great source to search the Web for academic articles, users can also go to search engines whose databases commercial Websites don't access. This is the Deep Web (or the Invisible Web, or the Hidden Web) that provides in-the-know users with sources unavailable through traditional search engines: Deep Web Technologies, Intute (since 2011 a static archive), and Using Science Direct.
Deep Web Technologies. (2014). National Library of Energy Beta (NLEBeta). Retrieved from http://www.deepwebtech.com
Updated periodically, the Deep Web Technologies search engine has provided public users with access to the United States National Library of EnergyBeta (NLEBeta), a virtual library and open government resource created and maintained by the US Department of Energy as mandated by the Freedom of Information Act since 2012. Users have access to all the DOE’s science and research and development results, energy and technology for industry and homeowners, energy market information and analysis, and nuclear security and environmental management sources.
Through NLEBeta, users can access the otherwise unavailable Websites and databases that federal government employees have access to through this DOE Website. Deep Web Technologies contents aren’t accessible directly through commercial search engines as other United States government Websites like the National Library of Medicine and the National Agricultural Library’s Websites are, although users can access this search engine itself through a commercial search engine like Google.
Intute. (2010). Retrieved from http://intute.ac.uk/
Since Intute lost funding in 2011, this United Kingdom Deep Web search engine has remained static. Even so, the user can access scholarly sources Online not available through Google, Google Scholar, Bing, or other commercial Websites here, including agriculture, architectural, biological sciences, business and management, communication and media studies, creative and performing arts, education and research methods, engineering, geography and environment, humanities, law, mathematics and computer science, medicine, modern languages, nursing, physical science, psychology, social sciences, and veterinary medicine Websites. Intute also offers a virtual training link to guide users in better accessing this source.
Using Science Direct. (2014). Elsevier. Retrieved from http://www.elsevier.com/online-tools/sciencedirect/using#guest-users
Science Direct provides free access to an incredibly long list of Open Access scientific journals.
___________
Often Overlooked Online Sources
Users also shouldn’t forget that they can access Online a vast number of sources from the world’s leading research libraries through Google Books either free-of-charge or for a nominal fee. Not technically part of the hidden Web (but certainly limited access, subscription-based) Websites also often some features that visitors to their databases can use.
___________
Science Flicks Online
Listen to podcasts on topics in biology, chemistry, mathematics, medicine, and technology.
___________
Project Muse & Questia
Project Muse, whose sources often appear on Google Scholar, is a database that allows registered independent researchers to access a limited number of social science and humanities journals free-of-charge; specifically, it permits “free access to book and journal Tables of Contents and sample full-text journal articles and book chapters without a subscription”--all of which usually can be found through Google Scholar (http://muse.jhu.edu/about/index.html).
Questia, another social science and humanities database, allows free access to all public domain sources as well as the first page of every source's chapter. Additionally, Questia frequently features free Online sources, such as Black History month resources or popular picks like The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology or The Encyclopedia of African Literature. However, like Project Muse, most Questia articles require a subscription fee (http://www.questia.com/
___________
Free-of-charge Legal
Research
Free and low cost legal research guide,
(n. d.). Questia. Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved from http://www.law.georgetown.edu/library/research/guides/freelowcost.cfm
|
Georgetown Law Library provides links for a long list of free legal Websites including the American Bar Association Journal, Google Scholar, Law.com Dictionary, Legal Information Institution (Cornell University), Oyez.org,Justia, Find Law, Public Library of Law, Thomas, FDsys, and Rutgers School of Law. Additionally, Caselex offers access to citations on a one-time basis paid by credit card.
I need help with a legal problem. (2013, March 2). McGregor, Texas, McGinley Memorial Public Library Books and Friends. Retrieved from http://evelynelainesmith.blogspot.com/2013/03/legal-questions.html
The McGinley Memorial Library Books and Friends blog contains additional legal links, including those to Lexis One, Hieros Gamois, WashLaw, Georgia State Law School Meta Index, and Paralegal.org as well as to the State Bar of Texas, Texas Courts Online, and TexasLawHelp.org.
LexisNexis Communities Portal. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.lexisnexis.com/legalnewsroom/p/lexisonelandingpage.aspx
Westlaw. (n. d.). Thomson Reuters. Retrieved from http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/product-support/training?tf=90&tc=252
___________
A Short Annotated Bibliography of
(More or Less) Deep Web Sources
First off, although OCLC's World Cat is not exactly
hidden, Internet users might not think about using its search engine
at http://www.worldcat.org/,
for WorldCat provides
reference librarians with a wide variety of sources available both in
library catalogs and Online. As for accessing annotated
bibliographies for scientific and scholarly Deep Web sources, Google
comes up with two excellent, albeit somewhat outdated bibliographies.
| Users don't often realize the resources they are missing. (level+real.jpg) |
Websites
Just Beneath the Surface
First
of all, although OCLC'S WorldCat is
not exactly hidden, Internet users might not think about using its
search engine at http://www.worldcat.org/.
However, WorldCat
provides reference librarians with a wide variety of sources
available both in membership-based library catalogs and Online. As
fir accessing annotated bibliographies for scientific and scholarly
Deep Web sources, Google comes up with two excellent, albeit somewhat
outdated bibliographies.
Basu,
Saikat. (2010, March 14). 10 search engines to explore the Invisible
Web. Makeuseof. Retrieved
from http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-search-engines-explore-deep-invisible-web
Makeuseof lists ten search engines that in 2010 allowed users to access Deep Web sites, although the inclusion of Infoplease in this category is debatable. As of March 2014 the user can only access the following Websites:
As
noted previously, Scirus “has retired”,
although ScienceDirect keeps a catalog of Open Access journals. Retrieved from
Readers
will also benefit from reading the comments section of Basu’s
article for further recommendations, since doing so comes up with
very detailed catalogs of scholarly and scientific sources like
Wolfram Alpha and Roddy MacLeod awe-inspiring Website, Roddy
MacLeod’s Blog.
____________
Open
Access Reference Sites
These Websites and Online journals are open access:
Alexa provides
links to the top 500 Websites as well as rating them.
This
mega search engine takes users to 70,000+ databases and specialty
search engines:
DOAJ provides
links for Open Access journals
.
.
FindLaw is
legal publisher Thompson-Reuters' Online free-of-charge Website.
High Wire.
(2014). Stanford University. Retrieved from
High
Wire shares some full-text articles free-of-charge,
although it's mostly subscription based.
Compiled by librarians from from research universities, this Website has a decidedly scholarly bent.
Infoplease provides
Website visitors with an Online almanac, atlas, unabridged
dictionary, and a thesaurus as well as the 6th edition of the Columbia Encyclopedia. More importantly, perhaps, the site also provides school age users with a link to TutorVista.com that provides one-on-one 24/7 homework help.
MacLeod,
Roddy. (2014, March 14). 360 more open access and subscription
journals added to journals TOCS. Roddy MacLeod Blog.
Retrieved from http://roddymacleod.wordpress.com/
MacLeod’s
entire blog is an invaluable tool for otherwise inaccessible
information.
This
mega search engine provides readers free access to magazines
covering diverse topics.
Resources to search the invisible Web. (2012, June 4). OWL. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/07/https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/07/
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/07/https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/558/07/
Purdue
University’s Online Writing Lab lists eight
sources as part of the Invisible Web.
Search.com
is a mega search engine that pulls up multiple search engines at the
same time.
___________
Need
More Help with Research?
No comments:
Post a Comment