Critical Evaluation of a Nutrition Website

Develop your critical analysis skills to discriminate between sound nutrition information and nutrition misinformation, and to engage in dialogue with classmates about the same.
Before You Begin
Before you attempt this assignment, we encourage you to review the information that will help you evaluate nutrition information you find on the web. These include the following:
• Section 1.6 of the course text (pages 35 to 40)
• Meriam Library, California State University, Chico. (2019). The CRAAP Testopens in new window (Created by Sarah Blakeslee in 2010. This is a useful tool for you to use when evaluating information on a nutrition website. Highly recommended)
• Who can we trust? Determining Credibility of Informationdownload PDF [course handout]
• University of Guelph Library. Choose the best info: Tips for evaluating your sourcesopens in new window
• UoGLibrary. (2013, December 17). Choose the best info: Apply authorityopens in new window [YouTube Video, 2:40 min]
• UoGLibrary. (2013, December 17). Choose the best info: Apply relevanceopens in new window [YouTube video, 2:25 min]
• UofGLibrary. (2013, December 17). Choose the best info: Why evaluateopens in new window [YouTube video, 3:17 min]
• UoGLibrary. (2014, April 10). What is peer review?opens in new window [YouTube, 1:48 min]
• UoGLibrary. (2014, April 23). Thinking critically about dataopens in new window [YouTube video, 3:51 min]
If you have further questions about how to determine the credibility of online information, please use the Ask Your Instructor discussion to post your question

Instructions
Be sure to write your discussion posts independently – they should contain your own thoughts and reflections; not someone else’s. While you are not expected to reference additional sources of information, if you choose to do so, be sure to cite these.
Find a Nutrition Website
Before you participate in the discussion, you need to find a nutrition website. The site you choose should be making some sort of claim about the effect of a food, a food product, a beverage, or a dietary pattern, on health. Everyone in your discussion group must use a different website, so the earlier you post, the less the chance that you will choose the same site as another student in your discussion group. Below are examples of two good nutrition websites:
• HealthLinkBC Websiteopens in new window
• Heart and Stroke Foundation Websiteopens in new window
Note: Websites that contain only nutrition labels for food products do not lend themselves well to this assignment. There is an exemplar (i.e., a model) to help you understand how to complete this assignment. It is posted in the Grading section below. This exemplar was done on The China Study; therefore, we will ask that you do not complete your assignment on this same study.
Part 1: Your Original Post
The expected length of your original posts is 9-18 sentences, broken down as described below.
Start a new discussion topic and address the following in your post:
• Begin your post by providing a brief description (1-2 sentences) of the site you chose; be sure to include the web address of the site in your brief description.
• Then evaluate the credibility of the site by answering each of the three questions below (adapted from Smolin, Grosvenor, & Gurfinkel (2012), Nutrition: Science and Applications. Canadian Edition).
1. Does the claim make sense? (2-4 sentences)
(If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is; Things to be wary of: quick fixes, miracle products, satisfaction guarantees and natural products)
2. Does the information come from a credible source? (2-4 sentences)
(Credible sources include information from government agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, scientific journal articles and dietitians. Sources to be wary of include: nutritionists, those with no nutrition training, people who don’t state their credentials, testimonials or personal stories)
3. Is the website selling something? (2-4 sentences)
(If the information is helping to sell a product, it may be biased; information presented in online newspapers and magazines is often exaggerated to make it more exciting for people to buy)
• Finally, make a judgment of the credibility of the site (2-4 sentences)
Decide whether you trust this source of information. Explain why you would or wouldn’t trust it.
Once you finished typing your post, review it. When you’re happy with post it to the discussion.