Research Guides: Research General: Find Websites

Website Domain Types

.com – Commercial websites

Generally created by a business or corporation and is for profit.
Provides information on products or is motivated by sales.

.edu – Educational websites

Created by a college, university or grade school.
Information is provided for academic purposes.
Highly regulated and can only be owned by an educational organization.

.gov – Government websites

Created by local, state, and national governments.
Information is provided for the public.
Highly regulated and can only be owned by a government organization.

.org – Organization website

Used by both non-profit organizations, for profit corporations and individuals.
Organization websites can be owned by a corporation and be sales motivated, owned by an individual or owned by a non-profit organization that provides information supporting a specific cause or viewpoint.
Carefully evaluate non-profit organizations as they can have a particular viewpoint on an issue, so the information they provide can be biased or slanted in order to support their viewpoint.

Website Evaluation Tutorial

Website Evaluation Tutorial
If you're starting a research assignment and want to do a quick review on how to evaluate websites. Check out our online website evaluation tutorial.

Introducing SIFT

SIFT is an easy-to-use four-step method of fact-checking information you find anywhere. Digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield has created a few short videos to explain how to best use SIFT.

The above is adapted from "The SIFT Method", Introduction to College Research by Walter D. Butler; Aloha Sargent; and Kelsey Smith, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Step 1: Stop!

Before you use a source. ask yourself:

Who's responsible for the information?

Who created and disseminated it? And do you recognize the source?

If so, do you trust it? If the answer is no or you're unsure, consider some of the following:

Step 2: Investigate the Source

What do others have to say about the source? (Hint: Try scanning the Wikipedia article on the source, if there is one) Look for surprises, particularly those that deviate from your initial impression! Take a look at the video (2:45) that covers how to fact-check efficiently and effectively by "reading vertically"

Step 3: Find Better Coverage

If you're unsure about a source especially if it is making a claim that you want to use or share, investigate if other sources that you trust more are also making the claim. The following video (4:10) covers strategies for finding better coverage of a claim:

Step 4: Trace Claims, Quotes and media to the Original Context

Context is critical when it comes to information claims. And information changes as it gets passed along and shared, sometimes unintentionally, sometimes deliberately. So, consider tracing the claim back to its original source and context. Take a look at the following video (1:33) that covers tips for "going upstream" and finding the original context:

Google Advanced Search

Quick Tip: If you are searching Google for a website with a specific domain, such as a .gov or .edu, when you type in your search add "site:" and the domain type at the end of your search term. For example, if you wanted to find government websites on gun control, type in "gun control site:.gov". Or if you wanted to specifically search for non-profit websites that had information on wildlife, type in "wildlife site:.org".

Google Advanced Search
Use to specify website domain when searching, such as .gov sites for government information.