WRT 254 - Advanced Professional Communication - PimaOnline: Find Background Information

The URL for a website can tell you a lot about the purpose of a webpage. 

• .com = commercial site
• .net =network provider
• .org =organization
• .edu =education - school or university
• .mil = military website
• .gov = government website

.com, .net, and .org sites are less regulated, meaning anyone can register for a website with that domain.  .edu, .mil, and .gov sites are more regulated, and tend to be more reliable. 

You are welcome to use Google or Wikipedia to start your search about your topic. However, when searching for information on the "free web," you need to be critical.  Here are a few reasons:

• On the "free web," anyone can post information, which can be unreliable and inaccurate.
• The amount of information online can be overwhelming; there are currently more than 357 million websites in existence.
• When searching the web, you get A LOT of results, many of which may not be relevant.
• Many websites may have an agenda, or may be trying to sell you something.
• Scholarly sources are usually not available on the "free web." They are located primarily in library databases. 

So, start with Google, and then look for other sources of information (either trustworthy websites, library resources, or materials from class), to back up what you find.