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Helen L. DeRoy Medical Library: Web Site Evaluation Guide
- Look for web sites written by a person, institution, or organization which you already trust.
- Government Agencies, academic or medical institution and scientific journals or books are generally good places to start.
- If possible, get information from more than one source so that you get several different points of view to help you make the decisions that affect your medical care.
- Look for a clearly stated purpose, author or editorial board and source of funding on the web site. Who wrote the site, what are they trying to do, and how is this being paid for?
- For example, the makers of Tylenol™ have much to gain by promoting its product over Advil™. The information may be correct, but you may have to visit other sites to get the entire picture.
- If there is advertising on the site, it should be clearly set apart from the information.
- To ensure you are looking at current information, look for dates on a web site that shows when the site was first placed on the Internet, and when the page was last reviewed or revised.
- Medical facts and figures should have references, and sources of facts should be clearly listed.
- Opinions and advice should be clearly set apart from information that is “evidence-based” (that is, based on research).
- Look for a privacy statement. If a site asks you to register, do they tell you what they will and won’t do with that information?
Web Sites
For more information on evaluating web sites, visit the following web pages:
The following web sites are good places to start when looking for medical information:
- MEDLINEplus
- American Academy of Family Physicians
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- American Medical Association
- CancerNet
- Clinical Trials
- MEL Health Information Resources
- NOAH
WARNING:
Anyone can put anything on the Internet. There are no rules stating what kind of health information can be put on the Internet or who puts it there. If is sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Patient / Family / Community Education Committee
Criteria to Evaluate web site
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What is the purpose of the site? Is there an “About this Site” link? Is the individual or group promoting Who is the intended audience?
|
___ Yes ___ Yes
|
___ No ___ No |
|
What type of site is it? |
___ Advocacy ___Business/Marketing ___News |
___Informational/ ___ Personal
|
|
Authority Is it clear who wrote the content for What are the author’s Can they be verified? Is contact information provided? |
___ Yes ___ Yes |
___ No ___ No |
|
Responsibility Is the source of funding for the web Is the site managed and reviewed If there is advertising, is it clear |
___ Yes ___ Yes
___ Yes |
___ No
|
|
Accuracy of the information Do the medical facts and figures Are sources clearly listed on the Are opinions and advice clearly set |
___ Yes
___ Yes
___ Yes |
___ No
___ No ___ No
|
|
Is the information up to date? Are there dates on the site to When the page was written? When the page was last A copyright date? Are there broken links? |
___ Yes ___ Yes ___ Yes |
___ No ___ No ___ No
|
|
Breadth and depth of coverage Is the information in depth? |
___ Yes |
___ No
|
|
Privacy Statement Does the site ask you for any If so, does the site indicate what Do they have a privacy statement |
___ Yes
|
___ No
|
All links have been selectively reviewed and approved by the librarian at the Helen L. DeRoy Medical Library. Neither the library nor Providence Hospital (PH) is responsible for broken links within sites outside of the PH web site, any information outside of the PH web site or maintenance of external sites.
