What is a domain?
A web page's domain gives you a general idea of the type of organization hosting the web page.
| .com |
a company |
| .edu | academic institution |
| .gov | U.S. Government agency |
| .mil | U.S. military site |
| .net | network of computers |
| .org | non-profit organization |
| .uk, .mx, .de | country sponsored site |
Are certain domains more trustworthy than others?
Yes and no. How's that for a frustrating answer. There are some really good .com web pages out there that would be completely acceptable for research. There are also some really bad .edu web pages on the web. However, sometimes .edu, .gov, or .org web sites are more reliable because information on those web pages is subject to the approval of the institution. For example, if Highline Community College finds a web page that includes inaccurate information, they can remove it from their web site.