Interactive Exercise

Evaluating Sources of Information on the Web
As you sort through the volume of information available on the Web, it is critical to make assessments about the accuracy and reliability of the information you find. A recent editorial in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, cautions Caveant Lector et Viewor--Let the Reader and Viewer Beware. The authors of that piece, headed by Dr. W. M. Silberg, outline several core standards that we might use to assess information found on the Web. See JAMA homepage http://jama.ama-assn.org/ (click on past issues, all past online issues, choose 1997, then April) to get details on this article by Silberg, Lundberg, and Musacchio. For another view of this hot topic, go to the website for Tufts Healthcare Institute at http://www.tmci.org/other_resources/topic910_01.htm to read “Patient Education and the Internet.”

NOTE: Any sites featured on this page will open a new browser window when clicked on. This will enable you to view the featured website and answer the questions on this page at the same time. (You may need to resize the windows to see both pages at one time.)

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If you'd like to send your answers to yourself and/or your professor, enter your and your professor's email addresses below. If you'd like to print a hard copy or your answers immediately, click the "Print" button on your Web browser when you get to the results page.

Your Name:
Your E-mail Address:
Your Professor's Name:
Your Professor's E-mail Address:

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Go to one of the following links and consider carefully the credibility of the website:

• National Academy of Sciences http://www.nas.edu. This site incorporates info on a number of topics from several federal agencies, with separate links to their websites. Across the top of the homepage choose one of these four organizations -- National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, or National Research Council – then continue your search.
• The Brookings Institution http://www.brookings.org/ . Search by word, or use menu on right to focus on Economic, Foreign Policy, Governance, or Metropolitan subjects.
• The Smithsonian Institution http://www.si.edu/. Find info under three broad topics of Art & Design, History & Culture, or Science & Technology. From menu on right choose from among 15 of its museums, or scroll down to the categories under “Smithsonian Research.” Also offers main search key at top of homepage.
• The National Rifle Association http://www.nra.org. Use search key, read the featured “top stories,” or click on a number of categories such as “NRA in the Media” and “More NRA News.”
• Capitol Hill Blue http://www.capitolhillblue.com. Choose from buttons across top such as Photography, ReaderRant, The Rant, Today in History, Videos, etc. as well as featured articles. Or scroll down for pieces excerpted from The Washington Post, New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC, Newsweek, and others.

Which site did you choose?

National Academy of Sciences
The Brookings Institution
The Smithsonian Institution
The National Rifle Association
Capitol Hill Blue
JAMA

Authorship: Are authors and contributors identified with a citation for their affiliations and relevant credentials?

Attribution: Are references listed for sources that are cited? Is all relevant copyright information included?

Disclosure: Is ownership of the web site clear? Are sponsors, advertisers, underwriters or sources of commercial funding identified, especially if there might be a conflict of interest?

Currency: Is the page dated to indicate when the content was posted or updated?

What other considerations would you give to this web page to test the accuracy and reliability of the page?