Judging websites
Using information from websites:
While we are very proud of the internal resources we have procured for our students, we recognize that the information you need to construct your answers may be found by other respectable sources.
.gov sources: Websites whose addresses (URLs) end in .gov are published by government agencies and will often contain useful statistics and other information about topics ranging from demographics, the responsibilities of different government offices, currently active laws, proposed changes to existing rules, and more.
.edu sources: Education oriented institutions such as colleges and universities that directly publish the results of research and other information that can reasonably be expected to have been reviewed by experts in their fields.
.com/.net: These are generally commercial enterprises. Before using consider: Do the authors or owners have expertise on the topics they are providing information about? Do the content creators seem to be approaching their topic in a fair minded way or are they using insulting or provocative language to describe people and situations they dislike? Does the type of content being provided fit your research purpose?
General Online Resources
Government Resources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsGet information on career outlooks, economic data, employment levels, demographics and other topics where numerical and statistical data is useful.
- Florida State AgenciesDirectory of Florida state government agency websites for Florida specific information on laws, regulations, demographics and more.
- National Center for Science and Engineering StatisticsThe National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) is the nation's leading provider of statistical data on the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. As a principal federal statistical agency, NCSES serves as a clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and dissemination of objective science and engineering data.
- Data.govThe home of the U.S. Government’s open data
Here you will find data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more. - U.S. Census BureauThe Census Bureau is the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy.
- College ScorecardSearch and compare colleges: their fields of study, costs, admissions, results, and more.
Engineering Resources
Engineering Resources
- Engineering360 by GlobalSpecEngineering news & analysis, searchable database of products & suppliers, standards directory, reference library for engineering documents, and engineering oriented discussion forums and blogs.
- The Scout ReportThe Scout Report is the flagship publication of the Internet Scout Research Group. Published every Friday both on the Web and by email subscription, it provides a fast, convenient way to stay informed of valuable STEM and humanities resources on the Internet. Our team of librarians and subject matter experts selects, researches, and annotates each resource.
- USA.gov for ScienceScience.gov searches over 60 databases and over 2,200 scientific websites to provide users with access to more than 200 million pages of authoritative federal science information including research and development results.
- U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical InformationOSTI.GOV is the primary search tool for DOE science, technology, and engineering research and development results and the organizational hub for information about the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information. OSTI.GOV makes discoverable over 70 years of research results from DOE and its predecessor agencies. Research results include journal articles/accepted manuscripts and related metadata; technical reports; scientific research datasets and collections; scientific software; patents; conference and workshop papers; books and theses; and multimedia.
- Library of Congress: Selected Internet Resources for EngineeringCan't find what you're looking for in this guide? The Library of Congress has an even more comprehensive listing of historical, educational, professional and other resources for Engineering.