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Computer science: Websites

A guide to finding information in computer science . Includes links to key resources and sources of help.

There is a huge amount of information on the Internet but the quality is variable. Some reliable sources are suggested below.

See also the tips and suggestions to help you evaluate what's good and what's not!

Computer science websites

Tips on evaluating websites

Success

Before believing the information given on a web site, or quoting it in your essay or project, think about the following:

Authority

  • Who is responsible for the page/site?
  • Is it a reliable organisation (eg a well known university) or a subject expert?
  • Can you trust them?

Accuracy and reliability

  • Is the information correct?
  • Is the grammar and spelling correct?
  • Is it complete, or are they just giving one point of view?
  • Do they have their own agenda eg political organisations?
  • Is the information fact or opinion?

Currency

  • Can you tell how up-to-date it is?
  • Is it regularly updated?
  • You don't want to quote out-of-date information

Audience / relevance

  • Is the information of the right level to be quoted in your project? If it is aimed at the general public or school children it might not be!

Feel!

  • Is the site well structured and easy to navigate?
  • Are the links from the page up-to-date and valid?
  • If it is well designed and maintained then you can feel more confident about the information it provides

A guide to domain names

You can quickly evaluate the authority of a website by looking at the URL of a website. This can help you find out who or what has created the website, and possibly their intent. The main part that you want is what is called the top level domain name, which is normally the last segment of a domain name which appears after the dot. 

For example: www.reading.ac.uk 

The top level domain name is highlighted in bold. 

Below are some common examples of domain names which you may come across. Note that even if the website comes from an official organisation, you will still need to verify the information provided. 

Domain Name  Published By
.ac.uk a UK university 
.gov.uk the UK government
.nhs.uk The NHS 
.com or .co.uk 

a commercial organisation.These websites may intend to sell you products rather than provide unbiased information.  

.org  mainly used by non-profit organisations
.edu an American university 

Recognising different publication types in search results

An internet search can retrieve a wide range of different publication types. It is important that you know how to recognise these to help you judge their reliability and suitability for use in your assignments, and to know how to reference them. 

Watch this short video from our Academic Liaison Team which will help you become a digital detective and use clues to help you recognise different sources in your results.

If you are unable to view this video on YouTube it is also available on YuJa - view the Format matters! video on YuJa (University username and password required)