RNSG 1413: Foundations for Nursing Practice: Websites

The Internet has a lot of great resources.  It is important, however, to evaluate the website to make sure it has reliable information before using it in your paper.

Author 

Who is the author of the website?  Do they have a degree in the topic they are writing about?  Who are they affiliated with?  

(Look for author name, “about us,” “who we are,” etc… for this information)

Date

How old is the information?  Has it been updated recently? (Look for the publication date)

Bias

Is the information biased?  Are they taking a side of the issue and trying to push their opinion or trying to sell you something?  Is it fact or opinion?  It is important to use unbiased sources for informational papers. 

Coverage

Is the topic fully covered? What is the purpose of the webpage?  Did they author state where they got the information?

Lastly, do not use Wikipedia as a source for your academic papers.   It is not always accurate and may not have reputable authors.

Google: www.google.com

1. Place keywords in search box.
2. After keywords, put a space and then the word:      

              site:.edu 

              site:.gov

              site:.org

Example:  Nutrition site:.gov

This will limit your searches to educational websites or government websites, or organizational websites.

Google Scholar: scholar.google.com

1. Will search for articles and organizational websites, technical papers, etc...
2. Some articles may have free full-text, but if not, use the information from the Articles/Databases page entitled "Check if EPCC owns a particular journal."
3. To limit to nursing, put Source: nursing after your keywords.

Example:  gestational diabetes source:nursing