PMID: 16398040

Issn Print: 1529-7764

Publication Date: 2001/09/01


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Quick and Effective Website Evaluation

Leslie H. Nicoll

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Author Information: is currently an Associate Research Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine. In this position, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of

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Excerpt

When I am looking for information on the World Wide Web (WWW), I zoom around. I have often said that by using the WWW, I can become an “instant expert” on any topic in 15 minutes or less. My self-imposed time limit keeps me moving fast, but that does not mean I am not careful about the information I obtain on the Web. With the Internet growing at an exponential rate, evaluation of Web sites is more important than ever. As nurses, we have good critical-thinking skills. It is important to use them to their fullest when evaluating information found on the Web.
In recent years, criteria for Web site evaluation have proliferated. They range from simple and cursory to elaborate and expansive. I have found a simple mnemonic, “Are you PLEASED with the site?” to be very helpful. The mnemonic makes the seven criteria easy to remember, but I have found, in hundreds of hours of surfing and evaluating, that they are extremely comprehensive. Using these criteria, I can very quickly get a handle on “the good, the bad, and the ugly” that exists on the Web.
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