Accuracy of Cancer Information on the Internet: A Comparison of a Wiki with a Professionally Maintained Database

Authors

M. S. Rajagopalan, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
V. Khanna, Drexel University College of Medicine
M. Stott, Drexel University College of Medicine
Y. Leiter, Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
T. N. Showalter, Thomas Jefferson University and HospitalsFollow
A. Dicker, Thomas Jefferson University and HospitalsFollow
Y. L. Lawrence, Thomas Jefferson University and Hospitals

Abstract

Background: A Wiki is a website which can be directly, openly edited; Wikipedia, a collaborative encyclopedia, is a well-known example. Due to Wiki’s lack of editorial control and formal structure, we hypothesized that the content would be less complete and less accurate than that presented on a formal, peer-reviewed web site. Our goal was to compare the coverage, accuracy, and readability of cancer information from a Wiki (Wikipedia) with a peer-reviewed web site, the patientoriented National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query (PDQ) comprehensive cancer database.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 46th Annual Meeting June 4-8, Chicago, IL.

Recommended Citation

Rajagopalan, M. S.; Khanna, V.; Stott, M.; Leiter, Y.; Showalter, T. N.; Dicker, A.; and Lawrence, Y. L. (2010) "Accuracy of Cancer Information on the Internet: A Comparison of a Wiki with a Professionally Maintained Database," Bodine Journal: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 8.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29046/TBJ.003.1.007
Available at: https://jdc.jefferson.edu/bodinejournal/vol3/iss1/8