research paper on finding reliable sources
Assignment Instructions for “Finding Reliable Information on the Internet“
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
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::::
****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. ( YOUTUBE VIDEO / QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF THAT ARE LISTED BELOW IN STEP 6 WHEN REVIEWING A SOURCE)
To complete the Assignment –
1 . Review the contents of the textbook and choose the topic that you would like to learn more about.
Required Textbooks:
- McKenzie, J. F.,& Pinger, R. R. (2018). An Introduction to Community & Public Health (9th
ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. ISBN: 978-1-284-10841-5
POSSIBLE TOPIC – PREVENTION OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (CH.4)
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.
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.
*******There must be something about the info below in the paper ********
Listed below :
Evaluation Questions
You may not be a subject expert in the area you are researching, but there are a number of basic things you can look for to help you evaluate the credibility of an Internet site. In addition to a number of characteristics, which are easy to ascertain, there are additional elements that require more analysis. The following are some questions you should ask when considering whether or not to use an Internet source.
- Authority/Source Questions
- Currency/Date Questions
- Objectivity/Bias Questions
- Accuracy/Coverage Questions
- Relevance/Audience Questions
- Consensus Questions
- Design Questions
7. Write a 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 (pasted correctly to the end of your paper).
additional info –
Other Helpful Resources for Determining Reliability of Information:
- National Human Genome Research Institute
https://www.genome.gov/11008303/#al-2 - National Center for Health Statistics
http://www.library.illinois.edu/ugl/howdoi/webeval.html - Medline Plus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html - Evaluating Internet Health Information: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/webeval/webeval.html
some important professional, evidence-based resources for child, youth and young adult health to add to your Resources Manual
- http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm (data for risk behaviors contributing to leading causes of death)
- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/ (National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS] Health Interview Survey)
- http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/child-health.htm (NCH Fast Stats Child Health)
- http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/index.htm (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion – Adolescent Health)
- http://www.healthinschools.org/
additional video to get info from : https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=dSnm8u7UOwE&feature=emb_logo
