SJSU Research Guides: Public Health and MPH Program: Websites for Community Health

Websites

Evaluating Information

These sites can help you evaluate the accuracy, reliability, and currency of information in general, and Internet information in particular.

Fake News
How to identify and avoid fake news.
Evaluating Information Found on the Internet
A guide by Elizabeth E. Kirk of Johns Hopkins University.
Evaluating Resources
A guide from the UC Berkeley library.
Critically Analyzing Information Sources
A resource from Olin-Kroch-Uris Libraries at Cornell University.
Evaluating Sources: Overview
A resource from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL).

Websites for Health Information

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC is one of the major operating components of the Department of Health and Human Services. CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.
National Center for Health Statistics
Overview of national health trends organized around four subject areas: health status and determinants, utilization of health resources, health care resources, and health care expenditures and payers.
Healthy People 2020
Healthy People provides science-based, 10-year national objectives for improving the health of all Americans.
Healthy People 2020 strives to:

Identify nationwide health improvement priorities.

Increase public awareness and understanding of the determinants of health, disease, and disability and the opportunities for progress.

Provide measurable objectives and goals that are applicable at the national, State, and local levels.

Engage multiple sectors to take actions to strengthen policies and improve practices that are driven by the best available evidence and knowledge.

Identify critical research, evaluation, and data collection needs.
The Office of Minority Health
The Office of Minority Health is dedicated to improving the health of racial and ethnic minority populations through the development of health policies and programs that will help eliminate health disparities.

Evaluating Websites

When evaluating websites, determine the following:

Who is the author or organization?
- Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com, .edu, .gov, .org, .net *
Date of creation or revision- usually located in the footer
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out of date for your topic?
Is Information Accurate?
- Where does the information come from?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
- Does the language or tone seem biased or free of emotion?
- Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose:
- What is the purpose of the information? To inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda? Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

Adapted from The CRAAP Test by Sarah Blakeslee at Chico State's Meriam Library.