How do you know if something you find on the open web is reliable? Anyone can publish information to the Internet so not all information you find on the web is accurate or even true. In fact, a lot of information is biased, controversial or just plain wrong! Not knowing what information is reliable can be dangerous! Be sure to thoroughly evaluate all information you find on the open web for accuracy and reliability. Try the CRAAP* test:
| C | Currency | When was it published? Has it been updated or revised? |
| R | Relevancy |
What would you use the information for? Does it support your research? |
| A | Authority | Who wrote it? Who is responsible for the information? |
| A | Accuracy | Where did the information come from? Are sources cited? |
| P | Purpose | Why was it written? Is it factual, entertaining, persuasive or biased? |
*Adapted from CSU, Chico CRAAP Tutorial
A website's address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) can tell you a lot about the website and its content. The following table explains the difference between the most popular domains on the web.
| Domain | Ownership and Purpose |
| .gov |
For federal, state, local, and tribal government organizations within the U.S. Registration for .gov domains is managed by the General Services Administration. |
| .edu |
For U.S. post-secondary institutions that are accredited by an agency on the Department of Education's list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies. Educause is the sole registrar for names in the .edu domain |
| .org |
For organizations, non-profits, companies, and clubs. Registration for .org domains is operated by the Public Interest Registry. Provided by virtually any domain registrar or web hosting company. .org is an unrestricted, open domain |
| .mil |
For U.S. Department of Defense (military) and its subsidiary or affiliated organizations. Managed by Defense Information Systems Agency. |
| .com |
Originally intended for commercial business organizations but is now used for virtually any commercial or non-commercial website. Provided by any domain registrar or web hosting company. .com is an unrestricted, open domain |
| .net |
Originally intended for 'network' organizations (involved in network technologies) but is now considered a general purpose domain similar to .com. Provided by any domain registrar or web hosting company. .net is an unrestricted, open domain |