The Literature of Health Education Principles and Applications

Information & Health Education/Promotion Explosion of information; exponential growth ▫ Information overload and information burnout Increasing demand for the health information; more production of information too Information need related to Responsibilities 6 (Serve as a Health Education Resource Person) & 7 (Communicate & Advocate for Health & Health Education) ▫ Need to be able to locate, evaluate, disseminate, & explain the meaning of information

Evaluating Sources Primary Source ▫“Open-access” journals (*web based only) Secondary Sources Tertiary Sources Popular Press Publications

Refereed or Peer-Reviewed Find the guidelines for authors or guide to submissions section What review process is used? American Journal of Health Education plate=ajhe_main.html

Evaluating Research Articles Abstract/Introduction ▫Were the aims or objectives clear? ▫Were the research questions/hypotheses of the study clearly stated? Methodology ▫Were the participants in the study clearly described and do you know how they were recruited? ▫Was the design and location of the study clearly described? ▫How was data collected? Were the instruments used clearly identified and described? Results/Findings ▫Did the results address the research questions or hypothesis? ▫Were the conclusions logical given the data collected and the type of analysis performed? Discussion ▫Were the study implications meaningful to you or the population you serve?

Evaluating the Accuracy of Nonresearch-based Sources What are the authors qualifications? Does the person have an academic degree in the field being written about? What is the style of the presentation…scientific or use of testimonials or generalities Are the references included? Are most references to secondary sources? What is the purpose of the publication? Is the pub trying to sell items discussed in the article? What is the reputation of the publication? Is it refereed? Is the information new? Can it be validated from other sources? Newsworthy versus valid.

Evaluating Internet Sources Content – citation of sources (.gov,.edu,.org) Authority – credentials of authors Publisher source – sponsorship should be clear References – other pages linked to this site Documentation – are sources clearly identified Facts – facts consistent with information from other sources

Computerized Databases ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) MEDLINE CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) PsycInfo (Psychological Abstracts)

‘Mining’ a Great Find Find full text article in pdf format Review reference list and identify other articles you would like to find