FYE: Evaluating and Finding Reliable Resources (Module 3): Using Google

You can't rely solely on Google for research because while it’s great for initial background information and offers a broad range of free resources, it has significant limitations.

A lot of the information you find online can be unreliable, misleading, or irrelevant, and search results can be overwhelming with duplicates and off-topic content.

Use Google for research when you need:

• General Information: To gain a broad understanding of a topic.
• Current News: For recent updates and developments.
• Basic Facts: To confirm straightforward information or definitions.
• Multiple Viewpoints: To gather different opinions or perspectives.

Learning how to read a website's name will help you evaluate website's credibility. An important clue is the website's TLD names (Or Top Level Domain names). The four major TLDs are: .com, .org, .edu, and .gov. Learning what they mean can help you come to a conclusion about a website's level of credibility.

• .com: TLD for a company or commercial website. These sites may have a commercial or advertising agenda. They are likely trying to sell you something. This may compromise their credibility.
• .org: TLD for a non-profit organization. They are not explicitly trying to make money but they are biased towards their organization. The organization's information needs to be considered in context of its agenda or purpose.
• .edu: TLD for a college or university, educational institutions. Generally considered credible but consider that some schools give their students web space. Students are likely not experts in a field and may or may not have checked the facts they present.
• .gov: TLD for an official government website. These are considered credible and authoritative.