Websites can be useful for finding current and easy to understand information. However, content on websites is published with few standards and may not have been reviewed, fact checked, or edited. Remember to check assignment requirements to see if you can even use websites as a source. It can also be difficult to control your internet search. Google and other popular internet search engines personalize search results so that two people can search the same thing and get different results so it can be a challenge target quality information on your topic. Here are some tips for searching strategies to find quality information online. 

• Try using Advanced Google Search for more control 
• Review your search results page, does the title of the webpage relate to your topic? 
• Review the domain (for example, the web address after the dot as in blackhawk.edu, edu is the domain) This will give you insight into where the information came from, here are some common domains: 
  • gov = Government agency: federal, state, city, county 
  • edu  = Educational: University, college, high school 
  • com = Business/Company or for-profit News bureau (newspaper, television, radio) 
  • org = Not for profit Association: Professional, Trade, Entertainment  
• Review the search results, see the example of a keyword search below
  1. Review the title of the site
  2. Review the domain of the site
  3. Review the description, your keywords will be in bold and show them in context of that site to see if it is relevant to your topic

It may take a few attempts trying different searches to find a relevant quality website. Once you find a site you may like to use, ask yourself questions about the source to help you evaluate its overall quality. 

• Evaluating Credibility: Is the purpose of the writing to report information or persuade it's audience? If there are ads, are the clearly separate? Does it use strong language or opinions? Does it back up statements with it's own references or citations?
• Evaluate Usefulness: Does the source include background information, ideas or examples that help you to explore your topic/research question?