Searching the Web--Part 2 What's on the Web? Authored by Pamela Eyerdam and Ken Burhanna The text only versions provide a linear presentation of the Hands-On flash modules.  The Hands-On modules often incorporate images and interactive presentations to help demonstrate and support the text.  These images and interactive features are lost in the text only format.  Users can supplement their reading of the text versions by going onto the World Wide Web and visiting the web sites and doing the searches that the text indicates.  This is most easily done by printing the text version and using it as a guide. After completing this module you will: 1. Know the Difference between Public, Gated, and Private Web Sites 2. Know What Types of Information the Public Web is Good at Providing 3. Be Familiar with Seven Common Types of Web Sites       - Commercial Sites       - Personal Sites       - Non-profit / Organizational Sites       - News Sites       - Electronic Journals       - Newsgroups / Discussion List Sites       - Databases Introduction This lesson will explore what is available and what is not available on the World Wide Web.  It will differentiate between the public web and the private web, discuss what types of information the web is best at providing, and describe seven common types of web sites. 1. Public, Gated, and Private Web Sites In the simplest terms, some web sites require password entry and others do not.  Sites requiring passwords (or other forms of authentication) are private.  Non-password sites are public. Some web sites, like the University Library's site for example, are a mix of password and non-password pages.  A name for these types of sites is gated.  Any visitor to the web site can go to the home page and some other pages, but only students and faculty can enter through the gates into private pages. The differentiation between public and private helps make an important point about the Internet: Only a portion of the Internet is public.   This is important because the search tools we'll discuss in upcoming lessons (like Google) only index public pages. Much of the Internet's most authoritative content is submerged in private web pages available through libraries, associations, organizations, and pay-for-view commercial services. 2. What Types of Information is the Public Web Good at Providing? The publicly available web can be a good resource for: -  Current events and news -  Government information and stats -  Information about industry associations and    organizations -  Information about businesses and products -  Information from interest groups -  Finding people, places, companies, and organizations. Notice that the public web is not a good resource for scholarly information or in depth research. Also consider that throughout your college education, you will be expected to focus on scholarly information and research. The public web should not be your first stop for most college assignments that require research! E1.Exercise Question You need to locate three scholarly articles on your topic for a paper you have to write for English class. Which is the best starting place? The public web    OR The University Library's web site The University Library's web site provides access to several gated resources that will give you access to authoritative, scholarly information. E2.Exercise Question You want to quickly check the score of last night's ball game and read the weather forecast for the upcoming weekend. Which is the best starting place? The public web    OR The University Library's web site Several publicly available web sites are great resources for sports scores and current weather forecasts.   The University Library's web site provides links to some of these web sites through its Virtual Ref page, but you can also find them yourself on the web. 3. Seven Common Types of Web Sites Another important way to consider web sites is by their purpose or intent.  By recognizing the purpose of a web site, you can infer a great deal about the information you're likely to find on that site. Here are seven common types of web sites:     - commercial     - personal      - non-profit / organizational      - news     - e-journals      - newsgroups / discussion lists     - databases Commercial Web Sites Technically, any site ending with the .com extension can be considered commercial, but we're concerned with a narrower definition.  Commercial web sites are business or company web sites whose purpose is to promote, support, and sell products and services. An example of a commercial web site is www.progressive.com of Progressive Insurance. Personal Web Sites Personal web sites are 'home-made" sites created by individuals.  They may contain anything and everything that the individual wishes to put on the site.  The example shown here is a site displaying family photographs.   Personal web pages often times are small and people will put them wherever they find the space.  Consequently, you can see personal pages attached to the URLs of companies, universities, and other institutional web sites that are not affiliated to the personal page. It Must Be True.  I Read It On The Web!   Personal web sites represent one of the greatest challenges of the web.  Because anything can be posted on them by anybody without any authority control, information on personal web pages requires a great deal of critical evaluation.  Complicating things is that an individual can easily make their web site appear professional and authoritative when they may not be.              Take a look at this site: The Bible UFO Connection. www.bibleufo.com Does this appear to be a personal site?  It is. Non-profit / Organizational Web Sites Non-profit and organizational web sites usually have .edu, .gov, or .org extensions.   National associations, universities, and government agencies sponsor and maintain these types of sites. These sites provide some of the most valuable information available on the public web and may provide statistics, reports, resource guides, and even online tutorials. The Cleveland State University web site is an example of an organizational web site.   That being said, you still need to be vigilant in how you evaluate these pages.  The organization GreenAction's web site (www.greenaction.org) is likely going to promote a single point of view.  It's up to you to evaluate and judge for yourself what you think about that point of view. News Web Sites The World Wide Web abounds with current news information available on web sites from major news organizations like MSNBC, CNN, BBC, and the Christian Science Monitor. These web sites are dynamic.  Their content changes on a daily and even hourly basis as new stories are reported. Electronic Journals Electronic or online journals are counterparts to printed journals. They are often located at the web sites of their publishers and they require a subscription for access.  They are not usually publicly available on the web.  They are private or available only through gated sites on the web.  The University Library provides access to thousands of electronic journals. Newsgroups / Discussion List Web Sites Newsgroups and discussion lists are forums for email or online discussions. Typically subject-based, these sites provide a venue for users to ask and answer questions and trade other information. Anyone may contribute to newsgroups, and contributions are not reviewed for accuracy.  The information posted to newsgroups then may or may not be accurate.  This being said, many knowledgeable specialists participate in newsgroups, and sometimes newsgroups are just the place to find information about obscure topics.  Just be careful and try to verify any information you find. Database Web Sites You can find many different types of databases on the web.  Some are publicly accessible and others require payment and a password.  Generally the more authoritative the information in the database the more likely the database will be private and not accessible from the public web.  You need to remember that places like the University Library can provide you access to these resources that you otherwise would not be able to access. This concludes What's on the Web?