The internet is an incredible resource with what seems like an infinite amount of information, but not all of the information you find there is accurate. If you’re conducting internet research—either for school or for your own curiosity—it’s crucial that you evaluate the source of any information you plan to use to make sure it’s reliable. It can be hard to determine if a source is trustworthy, so keep the following in mind.

Question

Three domain suffixes usually indicate that a website is a credible source: .gov, .edu and .org.

.gov means government. A site with this suffix is a government site. Information on these sites is considered very reliable.

.edu is an educational institution. Sites using this domain suffix are schools ranging from kindergarten to higher education. If it's from a department or research center at an educational institution, it can generally be taken as reliable.

.org is usually a non-profit organization. Generally, the information on these sites is credible, but there are examples of organizations that advocate specific points of view over others, so make sure you check to see if the organization has a particular agenda.

Which of the following websites is the most reliable?

A
www.nys.orgg

B
www.nys.nett

C
www.nys.con

D
www.nys.gov

Answer 1

The most reliable website among the options provided is:

D www.nys.gov

This is a government website, indicated by the .gov suffix, which is generally a trustworthy source of information. The other options do not utilize the credible domain suffixes mentioned (.gov, .edu, .org), making them less reliable.