Directions: There is so much information and misinformation on the web about health, nutrition, and fitness. When looking at resources, it is important to evaluate the credibility of a resource in order to determine the reliability of the information presented.
Review the document Evaluating Online Resources. Then do an online search using the words “diet” and/or “nutrition”. You can use www.google.com to do the search, or any other search engine of your choice. From the results of your search, choose three websites that you would like to evaluate. For each of the websites, answer the questions below and write a final recommendation on the website’s credibility.
Website #1:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website? (1 pt)
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc). (1 pt)
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)? (1 pt)
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information? (1 pt)
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain. (1 pt)
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources? (1 pt)
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning. (2 pts)
Website #2:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website? (1 pt)
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc). (1 pt)
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)? (1 pt)
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information? (1 pt)
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain. (1 pt)
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources? (1 pt)
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning. (2 pts)
Website #3:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website? (1 pt)
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc). (1 pt)
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)? (1 pt)
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information? (1 pt)
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain. (1 pt)
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources? (1 pt)
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning. (2 pts)
Final Recommendations: Of the websites you reviewed, which sites would you deem as credible and which did you think were less than credible? (1 pt)
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
As a medical professor, it is crucial for me to ensure that my students are equipped with the skills to evaluate the credibility of online resources related to health, nutrition, and fitness. In this assignment, I asked my students to conduct an online search using the keywords “diet” and/or “nutrition” and choose three websites to evaluate for their credibility. In this document, I will provide answers to the questions posed in the assignment for each of the three websites chosen.
Website #1:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website?
http://www.nutrition.gov/
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc).
The website belongs to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)?
The extension on the web address is “.gov”.
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information?
The site is supplying information and resources related to nutrition.
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain.
The information on the website is comprehensive and covers a wide range of topics related to nutrition. The information is in line with the information learned in section 4.1 on nutrition.
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources?
The information on the website is based on scientific facts and from credible resources, such as the USDA and the National Institutes of Health.
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning.
I would rate this website as “very credible” as it is maintained by a government agency with a mandate to provide accurate and reliable information related to nutrition.
Website #2:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website?
https://www.webmd.com/diet/default.htm
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc).
The website belongs to WebMD.
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)?
The extension on the web address is “.com”.
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information?
The site is primarily supplying information and resources related to diet and nutrition, but it also has advertisements for various products.
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain.
The information on the website is comprehensive and covers a wide range of topics related to nutrition. The information is generally in line with the information learned in section 4.1 on nutrition, but there are some areas where the information is not as scientifically rigorous.
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources?
The information on the website is based on scientific facts and from credible resources, such as the American Heart Association and Mayo Clinic.
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning.
I would rate this website as “moderately credible” as it is maintained by a reputable health website, but the presence of advertisements for various products raises some concerns about the impartiality of the information provided.
Website #3:
1. What is the URL (http:// address) of the website?
https://www.juicediet.com/
2. As far as you can tell, what company or organization does the website belong to (i.e. WebMD, MSNBC, Juice Diet, Inc., US Department of Agriculture, etc).
The website belongs to Juice Diet, Inc.
3. What is the extension on the web address (i.e. org, gov, com, etc)?
The extension on the web address is “.com”.
4. Is the site promoting a specific product or just supplying information?
The site is promoting a specific product, i.e., the juice diet.
5. Briefly review the information on the website. Does the information seem inline with the information you learned in Section 4.1 on nutrition? Explain.
The information on the website is primarily focused on promoting the juice diet and its benefits. The information is not in line with the information learned in section 4.1 on nutrition, as the juice diet is not a scientifically proven or widely accepted dietary regimen.
6. As far as you can tell, is the information based on scientific facts and from credible resources?
The information on the website is not based on scientific facts or from credible resources.
7. In terms of credibility, would you rate this website as “very credible”, “moderately credible”, or “probably not very credible”? Explain your reasoning.
I would rate this website as “probably not very credible” as it is primarily focused on promoting a specific product and the information presented is not based on scientific facts or credible resources.
Final Recommendations:
Based on my evaluation of the three websites, I would deem the USDA’s nutrition.gov website and WebMD’s diet and nutrition section to be credible sources of information, whereas juicediet.com is not a credible source of information. It is important for individuals to evaluate the credibility of online resources and to rely on scientifically supported information when making decisions related to health and nutrition.
#Directions #information #misinformation #web
