This article details the impact of online databases, proquest in particular, on composition research. When distinguishing different online texts, students often encounter research and documentation difficulties, indicating a need for more instruction that addresses new literacies emerging from the current transitional age of electronic and print cultures. I present new evaluative methods for online documents that utilize knowledge of online genres, information retrieval processes, and metaphoric imagery. As students research, they are not equipped with adequate knowledge of Web genres and need a metaphorical framework with which they can understand the ways different texts operate in virtual spaces.