Running head: EVALUATING A WEBSITE

Evaluating a website
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR 500 Foundational Concepts and Apps
Evaluating a website
When performing a search for credible websites there is criteria should be used to
establish whether it is a reliable source of scholarly source of information. The website that I
analyzed for credibility was http://www.cdc.gov, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This website is a government website and its purpose is to Provide users with credible and
reliable health information on data, statistics, diseases, emergencies, healthy living, workplace
safety, etc (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Yahoo.com was the search
engine that was used to locate this website. I chose this website because the information is
updated frequently.
When deciding if the CDC website is credible there are five criteria that must be
analyzed. Authority must be determined for the website and it is a government ran website with
the director of the CDC, Thomas R. Frieden, MD. The authority of the website is imperative to
know because it shows the reader that the author is involved with making sure that the
information is accurate and updated. There is valuable information throughout the entire website.

The information is non-biased and with current updated information as well as older information
ranging from health information to non-health related information. The CDC clearly identify
the objective of the website stating that the CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health,
safety, and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. CDC increases the health security of our
nation (CDC, 2015). Navigating the website is easy and user friendly, allowing the average
person to search and find information easily. The website offers the ability to search for a
specific health concern. The CDC also discloses that they have a privacy policy stating that the
CDC does not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) when you visit our websites
unless you choose to provide that information to us. Any PII you choose to provide is fully
protected (CDC, 2015). It is important to analyze websites using the five criteria discussed to
ensure that the information is credible or not.
(Bailey, LaChapelle, LeFort, Gordon, & Hadjistavropoulus, 2013) states Some of the
most important evaluation factors include authorship of Website, depth and currency of
information and availability of disclaimer. Knowing that the website has an author is an
important piece of information when determining if a website is credible or not. The CDC
website has all of criteria necessary to make the determination that it is a credible website for
health and non-health related information. When searching for credible information on any
website, this criteria should be used to determine the credibility of the information that one is
searching for.
It is important that nurses know how to search and identify the credibility of information
on the Internet. Having access to the up to date information ultimately leads to improved patient
care and overall improved patient satisfaction and outcomes. This information from this site can
be used the nurse to gain valuable information to educate their patients with reliable and accurate

EVALUATING A WEBSITE

information, such as statistics on the importance of medication compliance for diabetes. This
website can be a valuable tool for the professional nurse to share with clients, knowing that they
will be getting the most up to date and credible information.
In conclusion, when evaluating a website for credibility it is important to analyze the website for
the authority, information, objectivity, ease of navigation and security policies. Analyzing a
website will help determine if it is credible and reliable or not. The website, cdc.gov, proves to be
credible with the information that was provided. For a professional nurse it is important to
understand the importance of a credible site when looking information up and to have the most
up to date information.
References
Bailey, J. S., LaChapelle, D. L., LeFort, S. M., Gordon, A., & Hadjistavropoulus, T. (2013).
Evaluation of chronic pain-related information available to consumers on the Internet.
Pain Medicine, 14, 855-864. Retrieved from
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=4&sid=3070d98e-45a5-4206-be2a-3d6c142cd83b%40sessionmgr114&hid=104
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Website. (2015). http://www.cdc.gov