Evaluating The Readability Of Websites Providing Information About Monkeypox

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study is to evaluate the readability, reliability, and quality of the content on websites providing information about the monkeypox virus. Methods: The Google search engine (www.google.com.tr) was used with the keyword ‘monkeypox,’ and 44 English-language websites, which did not require membership and were freely accessible, from the first 15 pages of search results were included in the study. The websites were categorized into four groups: news sites, professional health organizations, government websites, and others. The readability of the texts on the websites was assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), Coleman-Liau Index (CLI), and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index (SMOG). The content quality of the texts was evaluated using the JAMA and DISCERN tools. Results: Of the websites examined, 54.5% were news sites, and only 15.9% were affiliated with professional health organizations. It was found that 56.8% of the websites had a FRES readability level of ‘Difficult to read,’ 47.7% had a CLI readability level of ‘Fairly difficult,’ 68.2% had a SMOG readability level of ‘Undergraduate,’ and 57.8% had a GFI readability level of ‘College graduate.’ The average JAMA score of the websites was 2.09, and the average DISCERN score was 40.61. Conclusion: The readability level of the information provided on websites regarding monkeypox was found to be of moderate difficulty, with inadequate quality and weak reliability. Based on these findings, our study underscores the importance of considering the readability, quality, and reliability of websites that provide information about monkeypox, highlighting that these factors should not be overlooked.

Keywords

• Monkeypox
• Internet
• Readability

Maymun Çiçeği Virüsü Hakkında Bilgi Sunan Web Sitelerinin Okunabilirliğinin Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, maymun çiçeği virüsü hakkında bilgi sağlayan web sitelerinin okunabilirliğini, güvenilirliğini ve içerik kalitesini değerlendirmektir. Gereç ve Yöntem: Google arama motoru (www.google.com.tr) kullanılarak ‘maymun çiçeği’ anahtar kelimesiyle arama yapılmıştır. İlk 15 sayfa içerisindeki İngilizce dilinde olan, üyelik gerektirmeyen ve serbest erişilebilen web siteleri çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Toplamda 44 web sitesi incelenmiştir. Web siteleri dört gruba ayrılmıştır: haber siteleri, profesyonel sağlık kuruluşları, hükümet web siteleri ve diğerleri. Web sitelerindeki metinlerin okunabilirliği, Flesch Okuma Kolaylığı Puanı (FRES), Gunning Fog İndeksi (GFI), Coleman-Liau İndeksi (CLI) ve Simple Measure of Gobbledygook İndeksi (SMOG) ile değerlendirilmiştir. İçerik kalitesi ise JAMA ve DISCERN araçları kullanılarak değerlendirilmiştir. Bulgular: İncelenen web sitelerinin %54,5’i haber sitelerinden oluşmaktadır ve yalnızca %15,9’u profesyonel sağlık kuruluşlarıyla ilişkilidir. Web sitelerinin %56,8’inin FRES okunabilirlik seviyesi “Okunması Zor” olarak belirlenmiştir. %47,7’si CLI’ye göre “Oldukça Zor,” %68,2’si SMOG’a göre “Lisans” ve %57,8’i GFI’ye göre “Üniversite Mezunu” seviyesinde bulunmuştur. Web sitelerinin ortalama JAMA skoru 2,09 ve ortalama DISCERN skoru 40,61 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Sonuç: Maymun çiçeği hakkında bilgi sağlayan web sitelerinin okunabilirlik seviyesi orta derecede zor, içerik kalitesi ise yetersiz ve güvenilirliği zayıf olarak bulunmuştur. Bu bulgulara dayanarak, bu tür web sitelerinin okunabilirlik, kalite ve güvenilirlik unsurlarının göz ardı edilmemesi gerektiği vurgulanmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Maymun çiçeği
• Internet
• Okunabilirlik

Kaynakça

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