Evaluating Online Information

One of the things you need to evaluate is simply the topic of the article. This can help you determine if this can relate to your project. When looking at the topic ask yourself a few questions:

• What is the subject of the article?
• Can you summarize the different points made in the article?
• How does this help me answer my research or PICO question?

In the health care sciences, everything is based upon evidence. Once again you must think of yourself as a detective who needs to take facts and combine them to make a particular decision.

One major part of this is identifying the references which helped that particular author come to his or her conclusion. If the item is truly a research or review article, it should have a substantial list of references. If it does not, it is could an editorial or opinion piece. However be aware that some editorials in journals still have references at the end of the text. The images below will show you how an editorial can have references at the end of it. 

• Look at the different types of references in the list. Are there websites, journal articles, reports, etc? 

Tip: Use the references in articles you find to locate other good articles on that topic. You can check to see if we have these journals by using the A-to-Z List. 

Example of Reference List in an Editorial:

Journal Article Refernce List: