The quality of the information you find on the Web varies tremendously so it is always a good idea to check the information against another source. As with all information resources, whether in print or on the Internet, you evaluate its quality based on the following criteria:
That's just the basics. Learn more!
Tutorials on Evaluation Criteria
CRAAP Test (CSU Chico)
Medline Plus: Consumer-friendly health information. A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health.
Merck Manuals: The Merck Manuals are a comprehensive medical information source covering thousands of topics in all fields of medicine.
Centers for Disease Control: For over 60 years, CDC has been dedicated to protecting health and promoting quality of life through the prevention and control of disease, injury, and disability.
Health.gov: Consumer-friendly health information. This site is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PubMed Central: PMC is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM).
National Institutes of Health: NIH’s mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.
Google Advanced Search - Information on educational and governmental websites tend to have more reliable information. In the advance search, along with your search terms, enter .edu or .gov in the box labeled "Search within a site or domain:".
Sample searches:
physiology hypoxia site: .gov
magnesium exercise performance site: .edu