A simple introduction to the concept of federated search and how it enables us to search more of the 'invisible web'

1. Understanding Federated Search Derek Wenmoth CORE Education

2. Understanding Federated Search Imagine all of the resources available on the web could be represented as this grey box… All Web Resources

3. Understanding Federated Search Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web Using a search engine like Google merely “skims the surface’, providing results from the searchable web. Experts estimate the invisible, or deep, web as being 500 times bigger than the searchable, or surface, Web. Google All Web Resources

4. Understanding Federated Search Imagine that all the education content on the web is represented by the light blue box. A Google search will still only return results from the surface… Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web All Web Resources All Web Education Resources

5. Understanding Federated Search Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web … unless we use the search engine located within the particular portal or repository where we know a lot of educational resources exist. This will allow us to burrow to the depths of the collection held in that repository, or indexed by that portal - but still doesn’t let us see across all of the educational resources. Google All Web Resources All Web Education Resources Ed. Portal

6. Understanding Federated Search Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web … unless the repository or portal we are using has an alliance with another repository that allows us to federate our search across both… so that entering the search terms in one engine will search both repositories. Google All Web Resources All Web Education Resources Ed. Portal Alliances

7. Understanding Federated Search Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web … and another.. Google All Web Resources All Web Education Resources Ed. Portal Alliances

8. Understanding Federated Search Searchable Web “ Deep” or “invisible’ Web … and another… thus allowing us to search the deep or invisible part of the web across a number of specialist education portals and repositories. Google All Web Resources All Web Education Resources Ed. Portal Alliances