{"id":1008,"date":"2018-06-25T16:26:15","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T16:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/chapter\/quick-tips-for-evaluating-health-websites\/"},"modified":"2018-06-25T16:26:15","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T16:26:15","slug":"quick-tips-for-evaluating-health-websites","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/chapter\/quick-tips-for-evaluating-health-websites\/","title":{"raw":"Quick Tips for Evaluating Health Websites","rendered":"Quick Tips for Evaluating Health Websites"},"content":{"raw":"\n<p>Content on the Internet is unregulated; anyone can publish anything on the Internet. There is sound medical information on the Internet along with dangerous information. You need to be able to tell the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why did the person create the page?<\/li>\n<li>What's in it for them?<\/li>\n<li>Are they trying to sell me something?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"sect\">Criteria for evaluating information from the web:<\/p>\n<h2>Accuracy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information based on sound medical research? Can the information on the web page be verified by another source?<\/li>\n<li>Are the sources cited reliable?<\/li>\n<li>Are there grammatical and spelling errors?<\/li>\n<li>Are there footnotes, bibliographies, or references so that you can verify the information? Are these reliable? (a citation to <em>Parade<\/em> magazine does not have the same weight as an article from <em>JAMA<\/em> )<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Authority<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Who published the page? What are the person's credentials? What do you know about them?<\/li>\n<li>Is the person backed by a known organization? (the American Association for Cancer Therapy may be a made-up name for something operating out of someone's basement.)<\/li>\n<li>Is the person affiliated with a university? If so, is the person a student or a faculty member?<\/li>\n<li>Can you easily find contact information on the web page? Check the \"about us\" link, usually found at the beginning or the end of a webpage. What does the \"About Us\" section tell you about the purpose of the organization? Can you find a physical location for the organization? Or is the only way to contact the organization through a webform?<\/li>\n<li>What is the domain name? (.edu, .gov ) Is it a personal page or supported by the organization? The tilde (~) means that the site is a personal page (compare an address like med.harvard.edu\/~jsmith\/headache to med.harvard.edu\/neurology\/headache)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bias\/Objectivity<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information showing just one point of view?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of institution sponsored the webpage? A pharmaceutical company? A non-profit organization?<\/li>\n<li>Is advertising clearly marked?<\/li>\n<li>Can you tell if the information you are reading is advertisement?<\/li>\n<li>Do the graphics, fonts, and verbiage play upon emotions? Beware of CAPITAL LETTERS, EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!! Or words like MIRACLE CURE!!!<\/li>\n<li>Is the author using data improperly to promote a position or a product?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Currency\/Timeliness<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is there a date on the page?<\/li>\n<li>When was the page last updated?<\/li>\n<li>Do the links work?<\/li>\n<li>Has there been more recent research on the subject? Many medical treatments change with the publication of new studies. What was published a year ago may be outdated now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Coverage<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information complete?<\/li>\n<li>Are there sources given for additional information?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Additional Resources<\/h2>\n<p>MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing<br>\n<a class=\"ext\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/healthywebsurfing.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/healthywebsurfing.html <\/a>\n<p><a class=\"ext\" title=\"Trust It or Trash It evaluation tool\" href=\"http:\/\/www.trustortrash.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Trust It or Trash It?<\/a> (evaluation tool)<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ext\" title=\"Trust It or Trash It handout\" href=\"http:\/\/www.trustortrash.org\/TrustorTrash.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Trust It or Trash It?<\/a> (printer-friendly handout)<\/p>\n\n","rendered":"<p>Content on the Internet is unregulated; anyone can publish anything on the Internet. There is sound medical information on the Internet along with dangerous information. You need to be able to tell the difference.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Why did the person create the page?<\/li>\n<li>What&#8217;s in it for them?<\/li>\n<li>Are they trying to sell me something?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"sect\">Criteria for evaluating information from the web:<\/p>\n<h2>Accuracy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information based on sound medical research? Can the information on the web page be verified by another source?<\/li>\n<li>Are the sources cited reliable?<\/li>\n<li>Are there grammatical and spelling errors?<\/li>\n<li>Are there footnotes, bibliographies, or references so that you can verify the information? Are these reliable? (a citation to <em>Parade<\/em> magazine does not have the same weight as an article from <em>JAMA<\/em> )<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Authority<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Who published the page? What are the person&#8217;s credentials? What do you know about them?<\/li>\n<li>Is the person backed by a known organization? (the American Association for Cancer Therapy may be a made-up name for something operating out of someone&#8217;s basement.)<\/li>\n<li>Is the person affiliated with a university? If so, is the person a student or a faculty member?<\/li>\n<li>Can you easily find contact information on the web page? Check the &#8220;about us&#8221; link, usually found at the beginning or the end of a webpage. What does the &#8220;About Us&#8221; section tell you about the purpose of the organization? Can you find a physical location for the organization? Or is the only way to contact the organization through a webform?<\/li>\n<li>What is the domain name? (.edu, .gov ) Is it a personal page or supported by the organization? The tilde (~) means that the site is a personal page (compare an address like med.harvard.edu\/~jsmith\/headache to med.harvard.edu\/neurology\/headache)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bias\/Objectivity<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information showing just one point of view?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of institution sponsored the webpage? A pharmaceutical company? A non-profit organization?<\/li>\n<li>Is advertising clearly marked?<\/li>\n<li>Can you tell if the information you are reading is advertisement?<\/li>\n<li>Do the graphics, fonts, and verbiage play upon emotions? Beware of CAPITAL LETTERS, EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!! Or words like MIRACLE CURE!!!<\/li>\n<li>Is the author using data improperly to promote a position or a product?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Currency\/Timeliness<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is there a date on the page?<\/li>\n<li>When was the page last updated?<\/li>\n<li>Do the links work?<\/li>\n<li>Has there been more recent research on the subject? Many medical treatments change with the publication of new studies. What was published a year ago may be outdated now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Coverage<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the information complete?<\/li>\n<li>Are there sources given for additional information?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Additional Resources<\/h2>\n<p>MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing<br \/>\n<a class=\"ext\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/healthywebsurfing.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/healthywebsurfing.html <\/a>\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ext\" title=\"Trust It or Trash It evaluation tool\" href=\"http:\/\/www.trustortrash.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Trust It or Trash It?<\/a> (evaluation tool)<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"ext\" title=\"Trust It or Trash It handout\" href=\"http:\/\/www.trustortrash.org\/TrustorTrash.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Trust It or Trash It?<\/a> (printer-friendly handout)<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1008\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">Public domain content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Evaluating Health Websites. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: National Network of Libraries of Medicine (link is no longer active). <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: National Institutes of Health. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nnlm.gov\/outreach\/consumer\/evalsite.html\">https:\/\/nnlm.gov\/outreach\/consumer\/evalsite.html<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":23485,"menu_order":3,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"pd\",\"description\":\"Evaluating Health Websites\",\"author\":\"National Network of Libraries of Medicine (link is no longer active)\",\"organization\":\"National Institutes of Health\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nnlm.gov\/outreach\/consumer\/evalsite.html\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"pd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1008","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1005,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1008\/revisions"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1005"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1008\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1008"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1008"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-fitness-1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}