Search engines can only search the visible surface web (roughly 10% of the total content). Remember to use the databases your library subscribes to which are part of the deep web which is hidden from general view.
Remember web services (including Google) are usually only free because you and your data effectively become the product (which can be shared, sold and utilised for different purposes). Information has value.
How does search work?
Watch this video to discover how searches on the web work.
Find out about web spiders, search indexes, ranking algorithms and page rank to build a picture of how you get the results on your page.
The hidden web
Search engines can only search the visible surface web which is roughly 10% of the total content. Some content is invisible, blocked or password protected. What can’t be searched is often referred to as the deep web.
To improve your access to information for your research, remember to use the databases your library subscribes to as these are part of the deep web and are not searched by web search engines
Remember - there’s more out there than a simple Google search can discover - see Finding Information in our Research Skills pages.