When I need information on parenting or child development, I like to dig deeper than the first few pages of Google! You can find parenting help and information at these 'Deep Web' resources.
What is the 'Deep Web'?
Sometimes called the Invisible Web, the Deep Web consists of the online resources that aren't spidered by the conventional search engines or are buried so deep they don't show up in most search results. About's Guide to Web Search gives an excellent overview of the Invisible Web, which is estimated to be 500 times larger than the Surface Web.
What Can Parents Find in the Deep Web?
Journal articles, University and Extension Service resources, Blogs, Government resources, and Multimedia resources are some of the primary gems to be found in the Deep Web for parents. Because the range of information is so vast, I will get you started with a few examples for searching the Deep Web for parenting information. Then, you can use these resources for your own research into parenting and child development topics.
FindArticles.com At FindArticles.com you can search millions of journal and magazine articles to find both free and subscription-based publications. A search for 'child behavior problems' in free-articles-only finds 1,976 articles from publications such as Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Pediatrics, Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, Science News, and Camping Magazine.
Scirus Scirus lets you search scientific journals and resources that include social sciences, child psychology and family sciences. Scirus is a good meta-database for journal publications and deep web resources. A search for 'child behavior problems' at Scirus finds 2,210 results with tabs to the 462 journal results and 1748 web results. I went straight to the web results and found this great discipline guide from University of Michigan's Your Child: Development and Behavior Resources. I also added this study of socio-developmental factors in child behavior problems to my research file.
Directory of Open Access Journals Start at the Search Articles page to find articles from journals that are 'open access', in other words freely available online. A search for child AND behavior led to a variety of articles including some interesting pieces such as School Refusal in Children and Adolescents and Childhood Discipline: Challenges for Clinicians and Parents from American Family Physician.
Google Scholar A beta of Google that uses the Google magic on scholarly resources only. Google Scholar spiders many of the same publications as Scirus, but I use both because I get very different results. A search for 'child behavior problems' got 395,000 results, but I was disappointed with fewer full-text online resources on the first several pages.
Child and Family Webguide You can't search at the Tufts University Child and Family Web Guide, but you will find an excellent directory of Web sites for parenting topics. I went to the Index Search and clicked on Behavior Problems. I found under 10 results, but they included one of my favorite sites, The Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice, and some excellent publications from the National Mental Health Information Center.
CYFERnet Search CYFERnet for the wealth of Extension Service publications and resources for parenting. The search for Child Behavior Problems at CYFERnet led to a rich variety of online parenting sites and tools. Two quick finds are Kindergarten Entry Skills from the Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting and The Preventive Ounce, where you can assess your child's temperament and learn new parenting tactics for your child's temperament style.
FirstGov for Parents Go straight to the topics for parents from U.S. government agencies for many free resources and informative sites. I started at the Search Bar on the FirstGov main site for my search on 'child behavior problems'. I was surprised by the great results such as Adventures in Parenting for Ages 4-10 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the MedLine results for Child Behavior Disorders.
Daypop Blog Search I use several Blog search engines for different topics, but find the best results for parenting subjects at Daypop.
Much of the Deep Web is found by individuals who have a passion for information. When you find these super searchers, you can search their pages to find Deep Web sources. One of the top sites for finding Deep Web content is right here at About. When you need to find something online, and Google isn't helping, you might find just what you are seeking with an About.com search.
Next > Deep Web Fun for Families
