Evaluation of gastroenterology
and hepatology articles on Wikipedia: Are they suitable as learning
resources for medical students?Abstract
Background
With the changes introduced to medical curricula, medical students use
learning resources on the Internet such as Wikipedia. However, the credibility
of the medical content of Wikipedia has been questioned and there is no
evidence to respond to these concerns. The aim of this paper was to critically
evaluate the accuracy and reliability of the gastroenterology
and hepatology information that medical students retrieve from Wikipedia.
Methods
The Wikipedia website was searched for articles on gastroenterology
and hepatology on 28 May 2013. Copies of these articles were evaluated by
three assessors independently using an appraisal form modified from the DISCERN
instrument. The articles were scored for accuracy of content, readability,
frequency of updating, and quality of references.
Results
A total of 39 articles were evaluated. Although the articles appeared to
be well cited and reviewed regularly, several problems were identified with
regard to depth of discussion of mechanisms and pathogenesis of diseases, as
well as poor elaboration on different investigations. Analysis of the content
showed a score ranging from 15.6±0.6 to 43.6±3.2 (mean±SD). The total number of
references in all articles was 1233, and the number of references varied from 4
to 144 (mean±SD, 31.6±27.3). The number of citations from peer-reviewed
journals published in the last 5 years was 242 (28%); however, several problems
were identified in the list of references and citations made. The readability
of articles was in the range of −8.0±55.7 to 44.4±1.4; for all articles the
readability was 26±9.0 (mean±SD). The concordance between the assessors on
applying the criteria had mean κ scores in the range of 0.61 to 0.79.
Conclusion
Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information for medical students
searching for gastroenterology
and hepatology articles. Several limitations, deficiencies, and scientific
errors have been identified in the articles examined.
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