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NURS 313

I. Finding Health Information Online

For those wishing to work online from off campus, please review the Connecting to UW Online Restricted Resources help page http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/connect/.

  1. Textbooks
    • Core textbooks summarize current standards of care, based on the experiences of expert clinicians and the results of research studies.
    • Textbooks are concise and easy to scan for relevant information, but ...
    • Textbooks are expensive and take several years to publish, so information in them may be incomplete or inaccurate if new knowledge has been developed, which is especially likely regarding therapies.
    • Locate textbooks using:
  2. Journal Literature/Bibliographic Databases
    • Journal literature allows for access to more current information than textbooks.
    • There are many journal article types, ex. reviews, research studies, letters, book reviews, etc.
    • Bibliographic databases are created to assist the user in identifying specific articles out of the millions that match your criteria.
    • Use the help guides for each database to find specific journal articles by type, topic, publication date, population studied, author, etc.
    • Locate articles using:
  3. Web Searching
    • The Web is a good place to find information generated by sources such as: professional associations, government agencies, or educational institutions. Much of this literature is not found in traditional reference sources such as textbooks or journals; this type of literature is referred to as "fugitive" or "grey" literature.
    • It is also a good way to discover "opinions" of individuals and groups on a particular topic.
    • Web searching can be more difficult than database searching as websites cannot be indexed to the level that journal articles can be.
    • Search Engines
      • Search engines allow you to search through huge indexes of Web sites created by computer programs called robots or spiders and display results according to relevance.
      • Use unique keywords, or combinations of unique keywords, in search engines to find:
        • Hard to find information
        • Pages buried deep in a Web site
    • Example: Google - www.google.com
      • Biggest search engine: over 3 billion sites; averages 2,900 searches per second
      • 41.6% of web users use Google to search ---- represents 75% of all internet searches
      • Results are ranked using proprietary PageRankTM technology that looks at how many times a page is linked to, how important the linking site is, and the prominence of a search term within a page
      • Special features:
        • Cache: View a snapshot of each page as it looked when indexed
        • I'm Feeling Lucky: Bypass results and go directly to the first web page on a regular Google search
        • Images
        • View as html
        • Similar pages: Display pages related to a particular result
        • Definitions: glossary definitions gathered from various online sources ex. define pdf
      • Limitations
        • No mediation of results
        • Full boolean logic not supported
        • Although the largest search engine, Google provides access to less than half the searchable web
    • Example: Advanced Google - http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en
      • Limit search to:
        • Language
        • File Format, i.e., PDF
        • Date
        • Occurrences, i.e., in title
        • Domain
  4. Evaluating Web Sites
    • Problems with Web Sites
      • Anyone can publish on the Web.
      • It's often difficult to determine the author of a site.
      • The Web is basically unregulated and there is a lack of basic quality standards.
      • Much information is unfiltered.
      • The Web often functions as a soapbox.
      • Users face the "garbage in, gospel out" phenomenon.
    • Evaluation Strategies
      • Web sites should be critically evaluated similarly to print resources. Evaluate using the Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites checklist. Determine the type of site by analyzing Web Site Addresses
    • Criteria for Evaluating Web Sites
      • Authority
        • Is the author clearly identified?
        • What authority does the author have to write about the subject?
      • Accuracy
        • Is the information accurate?
        • Does the site offer a list of references or links to support the information presented?
      • Objectivity
        • Is the purpose of the site clearly stated?
        • Is the information impartially presented? Is sponsorship acknowledged?
      • Coverage
        • Does the site satisfy the needs of its intended audience?
        • Is the subject coverage comprehensive?
      • Currency
        • Is the site current?
        • Was the site updated recently?
      • Design
        • Is the site clearly organized?
        • Is the site user friendly?
      • Example:
    • Web Site Addresses
      • URL
        The Uniform Resource Locator (URL) includes the name of the host computer, which can indicate the purpose of the Web site.
      • Tilde
        The tilde character (~) often indicates a personal Web site.
    • For more information, please refer to "Navigating the Web: Using Search Tools and Evaluating Resources" http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/navigating/
  5. Life After the U
    A list of free web resources for health information.
    http://healthlinks.washington.edu/howto/life_after_u.html

II. Citing Your References

  1. Textbooks and Journal Articles
  2. Internet and Electronic Resources
For more information, see these resources:

Library Liaisons to the UW School of Nursing

Janet Schnall,MS,AHIP
schnall@u.washington.edu		 Joanne Rich,MLIS,BS(Pharm)
jrich@u.washington.edu

Updated February 14, 2005