Information Quality

CRITERION
DEFINITION
ITEMS ASSESSED

Documentation

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The information or literature validation
  • Referenced: folklore, testimonial, manufacturer information, case reports
  • Well-referenced: standard tertiary sources for health professionals, primary and secondary literature

Authority

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The statement of authorship and credentials
  • List name and/or logo of the sponsoring organization
  • List author's name, title, qualifications and affiliation
  • Relevancy of the site content to the nature of the sponsoring organization and its purpose
  • Relevancy of the site content to the qualifications of the author(s)

Objectivity

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The presentation of unprejudiced information and objective analysis
  • No obvious signs of bias in the content, design or maintenance of the site
  • Disclosure of the financial support of the nature of sponsorship provided to the Web developer and/or to the site
  • Statements based on opinion or personal experience clearly stated as such

Review

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The internal or external quality control of the content of the site
  • Evidence of internal review process or editorial policy for the quality control of the site
  • Existence of a Web site "review board."
  • List of names of editorial and review board members available either on site or upon request.
  • Description of a site rating process or review, and its evaluation criteria

Links Types

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Links allowing topic broadening
  • Relevancy of the Web links to the content and purpose of the original site
  • Quality of linked sites within the scope of the original site
  • Close similarity between the type of users of original site and the users of linked sites

Disclaimer

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Liability
  • Disclosure of warning statements about the use of the information by persons not trained as health care providers in lieu of seeking professional advice
  • Statement of limitations of the site including information that is not available of consulted in constructing the site

Created June 26, 2000