Effective Writing in Psychology. Bernard C. Beins

Effective Writing in Psychology

If an author is not listed, why? What credentials does the author have that make him or her qualified to write about this topic? Are you able to contact the author or find out other background information? Objectivity or Advocacy What kind of website is this (e.g., entertainment, business, reference, news, advocacy, or personal), or what is the site's purpose? What is the site's domain (e.g., .com, .gov, .edu, .org, .net, .mil, or a country code such as .uk)? How might the site's purpose affect the kind of information it includes or excludes? Does the site present different perspectives? Currency When was the information put on the website, and when was it originally written? What is the copyright date, and when was the page was last updated? Do hyperlinks on the site take you to active web pages? Coverage Does the author present information in a fair and comprehensive manner? What kind of tone does the author use? Whose perspectives and voices are included and excluded? Are perspectives other than the author's acknowledged and addressed? How does the author treat ideas that conform to or differ from the author's perspective? What kinds of outside support does the author use?

For some websites, an organization or sponsor claims authorship, rather than a single author. In this case, you want to ask the same questions you would of a single author. If it is not possible to determine who sponsors the site, you can try truncating the URL (the web address) by deleting the part of the address to the right of the leftmost single backslash and then hit “enter.” For example, http://www.pharmtech.com/virus‐spread‐threatens‐pharmaceutical‐supplies‐and‐clinical‐research takes you to an article about the impact of the coronavirus (COVID‐19) on access to pharmaceutical products more generally. Truncating the URL to the left‐most single backslash will give you http://www.pharmtech.com, which is a website aimed at people within pharmaceutical industries. Knowing this information gives you important context for assessing the credibility of any content within that site.

For example, take the following address, which leads you to a site with information about evaluating websites: https://lib.nmu.edu/help/resource‐guides/subject‐guide/evaluating‐internet‐sources. Truncating it to the left‐most single backslash will give you the URL https://lib.nmu.edu, which is the library's home page for Northern Michigan University. Knowing that this is an educational site, rather than a commercial or personal one, gives you information that can help determine the purpose of the information on the page.

Determining the source and purpose of the information you find on the site can highlight some of the possible biases or assumptions that shape the information. Each of the following URLs contains information about ADHD, but each has a different purpose, as Table 3.3 indicates. To practice evaluating websites, apply the criteria outlined in Table 3.2 to the following links:

https://www.farrin.com/dangerous‐drugs/Ritalin‐lawyer‐north‐carolina‐legal‐help is a page for a law firm;

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/drugs is part of a public television series about medicating children;

https://www.team‐adhd.com/adhd‐treatment is part of the website for a pharmaceutical company;

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention‐deficit‐hyperactivity‐disorder‐adhd/index.shtml is part of the National Institute of Mental Health's website.

Table 3.3 Web Pages, Advocacy, and Coverage for ADHD

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URL	https://www.farrin.com/dangerous‐drugs/Ritalin‐lawyer‐north‐carolina‐legal‐help
Host/author	James Scott Farrin, a law firm
Site's purpose	This site is a marketing tool to recruit potential clients for the law firm, which is a for‐profit business.
Possible limitations of the site	This site offers information about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specifically about the dangerous side effects of drugs used to treat ADHD. Although the medical information on this site might be accurate, because the site does not provide information about the benefits of pharmaceuticals used to treat ADHD or about nonpharmaceutical treatment, the coverage is weakened. Therefore, any arguments you make about treating ADHD should draw information from sources that are independent of this website.
URL	http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/drugs
Host/author	The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), a nonprofit media project
Site's purpose	PBS is an educational resource without corporate affiliations. It advertises itself as a resource that “serves the American public with programming and services of the highest quality, using media to educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives” (PBS, 2018).
Possible limitations of the site	The information on this page has been put together through Frontline, a public affairs series that PBS sponsors. This site is an informative one, and because it is not affiliated with an organization that has a specific political or business agenda, it should offer a variety of information, representing different perspectives about treating ADHD. However, PBS is a popular source with a lay audience. Although it references scientific studies and interviews scientists, it does not present the studies themselves. Furthermore, PBS relies on monetary support from viewers, so, like a newspaper or magazine, it may foreground more sensational or controversial information. Therefore, any arguments you make about treating ADHD should draw from scholarly sources as well, and you want to make sure you read any articles mentioned on this site in their entirety.
URL	https://www.team‐adhd.com/adhd‐treatment/
Host/author	Supernus Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Site's purpose	The purpose of this site is to inform care givers about their options for treating a child with ADHD. Because the company is a for‐profit company that manufactures and sells pharmaceuticals, one purpose of this site is to present pharmaceuticals as an attractive option for treating ADHD.
Possible limitations of the site