Evaluating Websites

Information from the internet can be useful for answering certain questions, especially those dealing with patient education and professional organizations. Remember, though, that it is always important to evaluate internet information before accepting it.

To help you determine the quality of a website, consider the following questions:

• Who sponsors the website and what is their motive?
• Is the information on the site current? How often is the site updated?
• Who takes responsibility for the page? Is it a university? A pharmaceutical company?
• Are there advertisements on the sites?
• Can you find any references to scholarly sources?
• Are you being asked to purchase a product or service?

To take some of the questioning or evaluating out of your Internet searching, the Library recommends starting with our Subject A-Z Guides. These guides contain prescreened reliable websites divided by subject that include professional organizations, consumer health information, as well as government resources.

Additionally the Library has compiled a listing of specific medically-focused Internet Search Engines.