Hello everyone, My name is Niki Jacob. I come from a background in digital media and education. Currently a digital media instructor at a local technical school in Southern, NJ. Degrees in Music, Video and Multimedia along with Graphic Design and Marketing. I’ve had hands-on experience working with Adobe tools, film and music marketing, web design, and marketing principles in all my classes.
I’m taking this course because I want to sharpen my research and content evaluation skills, especially as the internet keeps expanding with both helpful and misleading information. My career goal is to become a more authoritative digital marketing strategist, able to back up my work with well-researched, credible sources. This class will help me better vet the content I use, protect my professional reputation, and guide clients to make informed decisions.
For this assignment, I selected an article from the Mayo Clinic website:
Mayo Clinic. (2024). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20360016
Using the five universal evaluation criteria, I decided to evaluate the Mayo Clinic website. The Mayo Clinic content is medically reviewed, cites professional sources, and provides clear, factual information.
The explanations of symptoms and causes are consistent with what I’ve learned from healthcare specialists, and there are no obvious factual or typographical errors, which speaks to their accuracy. As Tate (2019) explains, accuracy requires information to be free of factual, spelling, or grammatical errors and based on verifiable data (p. 22).
In terms of authority, the Mayo Clinic is a highly respected nonprofit medical organization. The authors and reviewers are medical doctors and specialists, and the site provides clear author credentials. Its .org domain also adds to its credibility as a nonprofit resource. According to Tate (2019), assessing authority involves examining the qualifications and affiliations of the author or organization (p. 23).
Getting into objectivity, the objectivity of the information is strong. It presents facts without trying to sell products or promote any agenda. The goal is clearly to educate patients and the public. Tate (2019) notes that objective content avoids bias, advocacy, or hidden motives and instead provides balanced, factual information (p. 24).
Now, regarding currency, the article I randomly chose was last reviewed and updated in 2024. Since healthcare information needs to stay current, to me, this article remains reliable. As Tate (2019) emphasizes, currency is especially important in fields like medicine where information can quickly become outdated (p. 25).
Finally, when looking at coverage, the page thoroughly explains IBS, including symptoms, causes, risk factors, and when to seek medical help, without overgeneralizing or leaving out important details. Tate (2019) describes coverage as the depth, breadth, and completeness of information provided on the topic (p. 26).
Based on this full evaluation, I would fully trust this web source for academic or professional use.
