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Research Made Easy!

Need help? Ask Mrs. Cooper

ResearchMade Easy!Need help? Ask Mrs. Cooper

Evaluating Websites

So, I can just use Google or Wikipedia, right?

  • Anyone can post in Wikipedia.
  • When you search Google, the sites that appear at the top are the most popular or the ones that pay to be there. Does that make them reliable?

Common Domain Names

.edu Education

.gov Government

.org Non-Profit

.com Commerical

.net Network Infrastructure


The website might be unreliable if it has any of these...

  • You have symbols in the URL
  • Out of date
  • Purpose is to sell something
  • No contact information or sources
  • Broken links
  • Biased-only giving opinions and few or no facts
  • Poor grammar and misspelled words
  • Statistics that do not have a valid source

Ready to test your skills?

Review the four websites below, and determine if they are credible. The website link is below the picture of the website.

1. All About Explorers

2. Dihydrogen Monoxide

3. Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus

4. California's Velcro Crop

So, where can you find reliable resources? The Library!

Student Resources in Context

Check out the cool tools on the right hand side of the screen.

Need a citation? Just click on the citation tool and all the work is completed for you.

Britannica Encyclopedia

EasyBib for all your citation needs!

Need photos for your presentation?

Check out Photos for Class

Google for Research

How to use Google to find reliable sources

  • search for a topic
  • select settings
  • choose advanced search
  • enter search terms
  • choose domains (.edu .org, etc.) & search

* When searching for images, choose the usage rights and select free to use or share

Open Educational Resources (OER)