ANUR 2223 Mental Health Nursing Concepts

Use domain name types to determine reliability and access 

• .com – commercial business 
• .org – organizations 
• .edu – educational institutions
• .gov – government agencies

.gov domains will usually be our best source since they are both reliable and accessible to the public. 

Consider 4 aspects about a source to determine if it is reliable:

1. Author
2. Motivation or Bias
3. Evidence
4. Timeliness

1. Author

• Is the author listed?
• Is the author an individual or a group?
• What makes the author an expert?

2. Motivation or Bias

• Is this opinion or fact?
• Is the source supported by an organization or company? What do they stand to gain from this?
• Websites ending in ".edu" or ".gov" will more likely present a neutral point of view (but not always).
• Are your own biases making you critical about the source before examining the evidence?

3. Evidence

• Does the source provide any evidence such as citations or links? Do the links work?
• Was the information reviewed by experts?
• Can you confirm the information in another source?

4. Timeliness

• When was the information published or last updated?
• Is the information up to date?