Because anyone can post information on the web, every search will give you a range of reliable and unreliable results. It is important that you consider the website, and determine its reliability.
To decide whether a website is reliable, ask yourself:
- Who made the site? You should be able to contact them through an ‘About us' or ‘Contact' section.
- What does the domain name tell you? Has the site been made by a reputable organisation?
There is a range of non-profit, government and media sites that provide reliable and free information on various topics. They often have common elements in their domain names.
As a general rule, in Australia look for:
- gov.au= government site
- edu.au= education site
- org.au= public organisation, usually non-profit.
- What's the purpose of the site? Is it designed purely to give information, or is it trying to sell you something?
- Is the site well designed and easy to use? Do all the links work? When was it last updated? Reliable sites are usually fully functional and regularly updated.
