Search Engines
To quickly and effectively search for information on the web you will typically use one of two methods – search engines or portals. Search engines pre-assemble millions of web sites and, using terminology found on the site, index the site for retrieval in the search process. Search engines such as http://www.google.com, http://www.dogpile.com, http://www.lycos.com, http://www.yahoo.com are among the most frequently used. However, new engines are launched periodically and you should keep your eye out for them as they often allow for much richer search statements and a more "intelligent" response to your query. When using a search engine you enter simple individual "keywords" such as diabetes or a phrase such as obesity and children. The search engine searches its extensive database of possible target sites that fit the description of your search and provides you with a ranked list of hits. Unfortunately sites that have purchased the right to appear first or in the top ten often influence the ranking. You should always scroll down the list and not limit yourself to the top listed sites unless you recognize embedded in the site address (URL, e.g. http://columbia.edu) a trusted resource. More on this in section on Identifying Quality Information below.

Portals
Portals are sites designed to be a doorway into a comprehensive collection of information resources on a specific topic or to reflect the view of the site sponsor on a range of topics. Relevant portals are often sponsored by national health organizations, patient advocacy groups. Some portals that you may find useful are:

Columbia University Collage of Physicians & Surgeons
Complete Home Medical Guide
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/texts/guide/

HeliosHealth.com
www.helioshealth.com

MEDLINEplus
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus

Healthfinder – your guide to reliable health info
www.healthfinder.gov/

Mayo Clinic
www.mayoclinic.com/findinformation/diseasesandconditions/index.cfm

Merck Manual
www.merck.com/

NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
www.noah-health.org

2002 Tollfree Numbers for Health Information
www.health.gov/nhic/Pubs/tollfree.htm

Using Bookmarks
Browser software (Netscape, Internet Explorer, and others) has a feature called Bookmark or Favorites. When you find a site that is useful and you want to be able to easily return to that site to check for new information, etc., you should mark it with a bookmark. The feature is found under the tool bar heading "Bookmarks" in Netscape and under "Favorites" in Internet Explorer. Once you have bookmarked a site it will appear in your list of "Favorites". Selecting it from that list will take you directly to the site. It is a good idea to organize your bookmarks into logical groupings such as "Disease and treatment sites", "Medical organizations' home pages", etc. or you may find yourself with a long list to scroll though when you are looking for a favorite.


Reading URLs
A URL, or Universal Resource Locator, is the address of a web page on the Internet. Web addresses are not like street addresses in that they can change often. http://columbia.edu is a typical URL address. URLs are made up of three components: the standard http:// part that indicates that what follows is a web address; the body of the address such as columbia indicates what person, group, or organization is responsible for the pages at that site; and the dot part, such as .com, .edu, .gov, .org. The most common URL endings are .com indicating it is a commercial or business site, .edu indicating it is an education site, .gov indicating a government site, and .org indicating an organization's site. The meat of the address, that which appears between the http:// and the .com (for example) often contains a company’s name (Merck, IBM), or, if it's a .edu, the name of the educational institution (Columbia, Yale, UCSF) or some other clue to who is responsible for the content of the site. Some examples follow:
http://www.cdc.gov
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.soberforever.com
http://www.discount-pharmacies-online.com

As you can see, some are easier to decipher than others.

Identifying Quality Information
The Internet is full of information; not all of it is accurate. You can probably find support on the web for any theory, drug, or treatment you can think of. Being on the web does not make the information any more valid than if it appears on a flyer tacked to a bulletin board. You can already tell something about the viewpoint the site is likely to take from the dot segment of the address. For example, a .com address is more likely to be promoting a particular point of view (for a drug, against a therapy) than a .edu site. .edu sites are typically more academic and dispassionate, although there are exceptions to all rules. You should apply the same common sense to evaluating web sites that you do to evaluating printed material, or products in a drug store. Do you know the author; do you know the publisher? Do you know the organization or the institution that has put together the web site or the portal? Is it a topic you are an expert in and can independently judge the content or do you need to rely on the judgement of others whom you can trust?

Diabetes Web Resources
The following are some of the resources that are known to offer authoritative information. They can form a starting place for your exploration of the web.

DIABETES SITES

National Diabetes Education Program
http://ndep.nih.gov/

Joslin Diabetes Center
www.joslin.harvard.edu/

American Diabetes Association
www.diabetes.org

The Healing Handbook for Persons with Diabetes
www.umassmed.edu/diabeteshandbook/toc.htm

International Diabetes Federation
www.idf.org/

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