Finding Reliable Information on the Internet

For this assignment, you will be searching for and assessing 3 Internet sites that are reliable and appropriate for academic or professional use and one site that you find to be unreliable based upon evaluation tips you gained from reviewing the links provided in the module. Please do not use Wikipedia or Wiki sites.

Remember, this analysis should focus on the reliability of the web site NOT a discussion of the specific health issue that was the topic of your search.

As an additional tool, you may find the Web Evaluation Checklist here of value in your assessments of the websites you choose. http://lib.guides.umd.edu/c.php?g=327107&p=2195123

Finding Reliable Information on the Internet

Assignment Instructions

It can be extremely difficult to determine the reliability of health and wellness information found on the web or in popular media sources. The amount of information accessible through computer channels continues to expand rapidly. The information is voluminous, but not necessarily accurate, factual or evidence-based. Virtually anyone can create an online resource and make it available to the general public. That is one reason why we do not allow Wikipedia to be used an academic resource in the HSA Program.
How can you determine which sites offer valid, reliable information, and which sites provide questionable, false or misleading information, or personal perspectives/opinions (i.e., blogs) that are not necessarily based upon current evidence? In addition to the readings for this module, the resources found on the library website and linked in this module, will be instrumental in helping you to complete this assignment.
NOTE: For this assignment, you are searching for websites or web pages – do not use library sites (i.e., SPC Library), publication websites (i.e., a journal article published on a website, such as American Journal of Public Health), or databases (such as Medline or EBSCO).
Remember, you are not summarizing the content of the sites or an article/book; you are critiquing a each website as a whole using the criteria that you have learned from the tools that you reviewed for the assignment.
To Prepare for the Assignment
1. Access the SPC online library link provided in this module. 2. Click on the Lib Guides link. 3. Scroll down and click on the Library, Research, and General Guides link 4. Scroll down and click on the Evaluating Websites link and review the information thoroughly. 5. Review the brief video located on the page. 6. Review the other links provided for further tips and review strategies. 7. Note that I will expect to see evidence in your paper that you have reviewed the library site and resources and have applied the information provided there to develop your critique of the websites that you have chosen.
To complete the Assignment
1. Review the contents of the textbook and choose the topic that you would like to learn more about.
2. Find 4 Internet sources of information directly related to this topic. Note: only one Gov. website may be used for this assignment.
3. Confine your search to sites that are appropriate for academic use.
Rev TT 5/16
4. For this assignment, 3 of your sources must be valid and reliable, and 1 of your critiques should be based upon a site that is unreliable.
5. List the Keywords used in your search, sites and locations (URL address).
6. Use the questions you reviewed in the Lib Guide site or other resources to evaluate the websites and their information – e.g., do you consider the site to be reputable, useful, believable; why or why not; who would benefit from using the site, etc.
7. Write a brief summary of your evaluations, including how the site would be useful to a professional searching for information on your topic. In order to receive the maximum number of points you must provide a clear rationale for your assessment
8. Answering one or two of the questions is not adequate – you need to give the reader concrete reasons why they can or cannot trust the site that you have chosen. You do not necessarily need to answer all of them in your write-up, but your evaluation must give enough information to support your reasoning.
9. Do NOT simply cut and paste items from the Internet for this assignment – your paper will not be accepted if you do.
10. This is an APA format assignment. Include a title page, references, appropriate writing style, and the Assignment Rubric (paste to the end of your paper)

Do you know how to sort through the vast amount of sources on the Internet to find reliable, evidence-based information for your assignments, presentations or professional use? Finding reliable information online (vs. through a library or scholarly database) is not always as easy as it might seem, but the ability to do so is critical for professionals in the health and human services fields. It is also critical to academic success. You will note that throughout your college career you will be expected to find the most reliable, up-to-date and evidence-based sources possible to help inform your work. This is considered a best practice and there are a number of tools to help you. You will find some examples of these tools below. You may find them useful as you complete the Finding Reliable Information on the Internet Assignment for this module.

Below are some tools to help you sort through the overwhelming amount of information that you have available at your fingertips with the Internet. Be sure to save them to your Professional Resources Manual in Pinterest.

Other Helpful Resources for Determining Reliability of Information:

Here are some important professional, evidence-based resources for child, youth and young adult health to add to your Resources Manual in Pinterest.