Searching the Web | evaluating the web
Critical evaluation is a crucial step in any search for information on the World Wide Web. The web contains documents in many nonstandard formats, contributed by non-screened sources, and unevaluated for quality, (unlike the scholarly, peer reviewed literature, which is organized into journals and cited in standard records by the bibliographic databases).
As the World Wide Web evolves, steps are being taken to ensure consistency and establish standards. The Health on the Net (HON) Foundation, a not-for-profit, international collaboration, has published a Code of Conduct that suggests standards for producers of health information web sites.
There are basic, agreed-upon criteria for evaluating web sites. As health professionals interacative with patients, nurses need to be alert to the context in which information is presented. Patients reading information intended for professionals may misinterpret information. While the date a Web site was last modified may be recent, this does not ensure that the information is up-to-date. Nurses should approach all information critically.
Links
- Medical Library Association's Guide to evaluating web sites at: http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html#3
- Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources at: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm
