The type of domain (.edu, .org, .gov, etc.) may provide some clues about the focus of the material. However, keep in mind that scholars and other content providers may choose to maintain their materials on other domains, for example .com. Also, .edu pages can be personal webpages of faculty and students - it is not a guarantee that the source is scholarly.
Typically, a good scholarly source will provide a list of references (essentially saying what resources they used/consulted). If they are high-quality primary sources, then the website or publication is usually more authoritative.
"A research article is a primary source...that is, it reports the methods and results of an original study performed by the authors. The kind of study may vary (it could have been an experiment, survey, interview, etc.), but in all cases, raw data have been collected and analyzed by the authors, and conclusions drawn from the results of that analysis.
A review article is a secondary source...it is written about other articles, and does not report original research of its own. Review articles are very important, as they draw upon the articles that they review to suggest new research directions, to strengthen support for existing theories and/or identify patterns among existing research studies. Review articles provide a great overview of the existing literature on a topic. If you find a literature review that fits your topic, take a look at the references at the end of the article for leads on other relevant articles and books!"
From American Public Library, "What's the difference between a research and a review article?"
Definition: An eye-witness account - i.e. results are reported for the first time by the authors/researchers.
Types: research articles, conference papers, lab notebooks, proceedings, technical reports, theses and studies.
Definition: A second-hand report - i.e. results are summarized, interpreted, or commented upon by others who were not witnesses or participants.
Types: review articles, encyclopedias, magazine articles and text-books.
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