Evidence
Caution: Wikipedia and Other Websites
Jennifer Lapum; Oona St-Amant; Michelle Hughes; Andy Tan; Arina Bogdan; Frances Dimaranan; Rachel Frantzke; and Nada Savicevic
As a rule, Wikipedia and other “Wiki” sources are not acceptable sources for university work. The beauty of Wikipedia is its egalitarianism—it’s billed as a public encyclopedia for everyone. The problem with this is that anyone can create a Wikipedia entry and anyone can edit entries. Unfortunately, “anyone” is usually not an authority. Remember, you’re looking for sources that meet the CRAAP criteria and that are written by people with degrees, education, and/or expertise in the field. Wikipedia doesn’t follow this model, so you shouldn’t rely on it as a reliable source.
Many nursing websites provide current information. Although these are not considered peer-reviewed and are usually not primary sources, the information on these websites can often provide context and guidelines related to health issues. See Table 3.5 for some of the common websites applicable to nursing.
Table 3.5: Common websites related to nursing
| Website | Relevance to your scholarly writing |
|---|---|
|
The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) is the provincial governing body in Ontario for nurses (CNO, 2017) |
The CNO can help you articulate practice standards and guidelines when writing about nursing interventions and professional practice. The CNO’s Quality Assurance Program can assist you in writing your reflective analysis paper during clinical practice. |
|
The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) is an association that represents nursing students, RNs, and NPs in Ontario. |
The RNAO has a useful website to learn about best practice guidelines, nursing policies, political activism, eHealth, and technology. It also publishes a non-peer reviewed journal called the Registered Nurse Journal. |
|
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is an organization focused on advancing the national and global professional voice of Canadian nursing. |
The CNA has a useful website to learn about healthy public policy, advocacy, nursing leadership, and nursing excellence. |
|
The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) is a provincial organization. |
The MOHLTC website provides information related to health services, provincial wait times, and access to care and care in the community. |
|
The Health Canada website is managed by the Government of Canada. This federal website supports Canadians’ health decisions and choices by providing health resources and information. |
The Health Canada website is based in scientific research, statistics, and current health information that focuses on Canadians’ health and well-being. It provides current strategies for addressing financial concerns and health inequities. |
|
The World Health Organization (WHO) is an international organization in 150 countries that promotes health for all people worldwide. |
The WHO publishes information about international health issues, policies, and statistics: topics include prevention, health strategies, treatment, and guidelines. These sources that can help you support your arguments. |
Attribution statement
Content from the first paragraph was adapted from:
The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.Download for free at: https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/wrd/
Other References
College of Nurses of Ontario (2017). About the College of Nurses of Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.cno.org/en/what-is-cno/
Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. About RNAO. Retrieved from https://rnao.ca/about
Health Canada (2019). About Health Canada. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada.html
World Health Organization (2019). About WHO. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/about
