LibGuides: HSC 276: Clinical Epidemiology: Internet Sources

Reputable Websites

Use the websites listed below to research and assess the possible environmental and behavioral risks of specific diseases.

CDC Home Page
Centers for Disease Control
Mayo Clinic
More than 3,300 physicians, scientists and researchers from Mayo Clinic share their expertise to empower you.
MedlinePlus
This consumer-friendly clearinghouse for health information comes from the National Library of Medicine. Here, you'll find information on specific diseases, conditions and prescription drugs.
World Health Organization
A specialized agency of the United Nations the WHO provides overviews and analysis of world nations focusing on health and health care issues including statistics relating to all countries.
Healthy People 2030
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Provides evidence-based resources (EBRs), i.e. published reviews of intervention evaluations and studies to improve health.

Evaluating Websites- A Checklist

Authorship Note: an author can be a person or an organization	Who is the author of the website? What are the author's credentials? Is the author an authority on the subject? Is it another student? A professor? Your next door neighbor? Is the author an organization? What do you know (or what can you find out) about this organization? What is its purpose?
Accuracy Information must not only be accurate but verifiable in your research.	Is the site edited well? Are there spelling or grammatical errors? Is it written in a style that you would expect for the topic and audience? Don't accept the information at face value - you'll need to take time to consult other sources (including non-web sources) to verify the accuracy of the information Does the information on the site "fit" with other information that you have on the topic? Or are there discrepancies with other sources of information? Does the author provide a way to verify information on this site? Are footnotes, citations, or sources provided?


Currency Look at the date of publication, as well as any dates of cited information.	Is the page or website being updated and maintained? When was the page written? Last updated or revised? How current is the information? Does this fit your needs? Note that website content written in May 2008 might contain information from 1975. Be aware that "Last updated" may mean any update on the page, including stylistic changes such as different colors or layout - not necessarily changes to content.
Content Does the content meet your needs or assignment requirements?	How detailed is the information - is it basic or advanced? Is the coverage of the topic complete? Does it leave out important information? Does it offer more than one perspective? or is it biased? Is the web page part of a longer document? Sometimes you will need to look at more than one page to get the complete picture. Is there a bibliography or links to other information on the topic? How were the links selected? Are the other sources mentioned relevant and credible? How does the content compare with other resources (books, journal articles, other web pages) on the same topic?
Purpose Look closely at the site. Sometimes it is difficult to tell if it is opinion or fact.	Does this site present fact or opinion? What is the purpose of the site? To inform? To sell? To persuade? Is the site objective, showing multiple sides of an issue? Bias is not necessarily a reason to reject a source - but be sure that you can identify it. Who is the intended audience? Advanced researchers in a field? Elementary school students? Members of a particular organization or viewpoint? If there is advertising on the page, does this affect the content?
Design Look closely at visuals and graphics. Sometimes they can affect the website's credibility.	What kind of information - textual, visual, aural - does the page present, and does this add or detract from the page's usefulness or legibility? Do image or other media files slow down load time or navigation through the website? Do the different design components work, or are images, sound files, etc. unable to display, play, or run? Does the web page require specific add-on software in order to read, see, print, or listen to resources linked on the page? Is that add-on software readily available or must it be purchased?