As a smart patient, you should know how to distinguish the truth and credibility of information. So when you are looking for information either on internet or publication, you should have the following questions bear in mind:
1) Who has provided this information?
2) Is it a health professional/health organization/university/company/individual?
3) Why has this site been set up?
4) Is the site putting forward a particular view?
5) Do the authors state their position clearly?
6) Is the site sponsored by a company/organization?
7) Is the site trying to sell a product?
8) Is the information presented in a balanced way?
9) Does the web address give you any clues about the origin of the information?
10) Credibility- how reliable is the information?
11) Is the document/page you're looking at referenced?
12) Is the coverage comprehensive enough?
13) Do the author(s) say where they got their information from?
14) Is there any background information on the author(s) and their experience/expertise?
15) Are references included at the end of the section/page?
16) Does the page/section include brief information about the author at the beginning/end?
17) When- how up-to-date is this information?
18) Does the page/document say when it was produced?
19) Is the information current or out-of-date?
20) When was the site last updated?
- Do individual sections/publications on the site include publication dates?
- Do the "About Us" Section has information on how often the site is updated?
21) How is the information presented?
- Is the site layout clear?
- Can you move around the site easily?
- Is the writing style clear?
- Is the font size big enough?
- Is the site available in other languages?
- Is there a site map?
- Are there navigations buttons at the top/sides of the pages?
- Is there a hypertext link to information in another language?
- Can the site be accessed by people with disabilities?