# 3 : Information sources

You can find information in many different ways, including search engines like Google and the (digital) sources available at the libraries.

More and more information can be found on the internet, but it tends to be rather dispersed, and it is not always easy to determine its quality. Often you cannot access the information because it's only available in a database, or you have to log in to access the content.

Were you aware that:

The "surface web" is merely the tip of the iceberg

- Google indexes less than half the entire internet?
- the search results for a general search engine are not checked for quality and reliability?
- non-substantive arguments (based on commercial, statistical and nationalistic motives) determine the ranking of the search results?
- not all (scientific) information is available online?

Therefore the use of similarly popular search engines is problematic when you need to search for general and scientific information. As you can see in the adjacent image, this is the "surface web", or the Internet which we all have access to, though it is but a small tip, in this case literally, of the iceberg.

To find all the information sources relevant for your subject, it is better to use the information sources that have been selected by the library staff. They have been selected for their quality and currency and they offer structured information. This module goes into further detail about the following sources:

- Greeni Global Search & catalogue
- Databases
- Search engines, e.g. Google
- WUR Library