Searching For Health Information
- 1. Searching for Health InformationHow to Find Health Information Anywhere, Anytime
- 2. 2When you have questions about health, where do you usually get information?
- 3. 3How do you know that you can trust the information you find?
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- 5. AuthorWho is the author?Can you find an author listed?Do you trust the author’s knowledge?Is there contact information for the author?Is “Webmaster” the only contact you can find?5
- 6. AudienceWho is the webpage or article written for?Is it written for a specific group?Is it really meant to be used by someone doing research?6
- 7. AccuracyIs the material scholarly?Are there references cited?Can you find evidence to support the author’s claims and expertise?Does the author show knowledge of the field?Are there spelling or grammar errors?What domain is in the web site address?7
- 8. BiasIs the web page or article sponsored by a company that is trying to sell something?Is the author trying to sway your opinion?Is the web page author trying to present their point of view?How detailed is the information?Is there a broad scope to the information, or a narrow focus?8
- 9. CurrencyIs the web page up to date?Is there a date on the web page? When was the page written?When was the page last updated?Is the information current?Are the links to current information?Are the links working?9
- 10. LinksWhere do the links take you?Do they take you to information that supports the first site?Do the links represent only one point of view?Do the links work?Do the links take you to advertisements?Do the links take you to unrelated sites?10
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- 17. Use “ ” around a phraseResults from putting food poisoning into the search box
- 18. Use “ ” around a phraseResults from putting food poisoning into the search boxResults from putting “food poisoning” into the search box
- 19. Search within a specific domainWith some searches, you will get a lot of .com results
- 20. Search within a specific domainYou can get rid of the .com results by choosing another domain
- 21. Search within a specific domainSome .org websites are NOT good sources!
- 22. Google usually searches on every word you put into the search boxIt ignores some words, thoughTo make it use those words, put a + in front of the words
- 24. Just like you can make Google add words, you can make Google take words outTo make it ignore a word, put a - in front of the word
- 26. You can also make Google find words that are similar to the one you’re looking forUsing the ~ sign will find synonyms for your search word
- 37. www.pubmed.gov
- 38. www.pubmed.gov
- 39. 39Two last tips…Be cautious about any health site that has advertisementsOrganizations and associations (American Diabetes Association, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) are usually good sources of information