Emergency Medical Services (EMS) & EMT Research Guide

Always remember: Anyone can post a website. There is no web editor reviewing site content or design. This means you must evaluate websites and determine if they are legitmate. 

Website evaluation is critical in the Medical and Health Field where information changes quickly and directly impacts peoples' health and well-being.  Use the online article databases to locate research based articles.                                    

The Health on the Net initiative provides online users with an authoriative seal for health websites. 
Look for their symbol on the websites you visit.
 

Here are some general guideline for evaluating websites: 

Authority: always take time to exam who is behind the website. Questions to ask include: 

• Who is the website author?  Is contact information provided?  Are qualifications given?

Objectivity: determine if the website is free from bias. Consider the following:

• Is the site promoting a particular perspective on the topic?  Is the information one sided? Who is the intended audience?

Quality: examine the website information and its sources. Look for the following:

• Is the information presented supported by references and citations? Is the topic discussed thoroughly and completely?

Currency-quality sites are regularly reviewed and updated if necessary. Be sure a site includes the following: 

• Date when the site was create and date when last updated.

Domain Name: a site domain provides a clue about the validity of the site. Check for the domain:

• Government (.gov) and Education (.edu) sites are usually legitmate as they are associated with reputable institutions.
• Organization (.org) and Network (.net) sites are sometimes usable, but evaluation is vital as they may be biased.
• Commerical (.com) sites are often geared toward selling a product or service and are often not good academic sources.