too much reliance on the internet?

Sorry, Bags, didn't mean to alarm you! It was just that dorsetpennt said 'thank you ladies and/or gents' and there didn't seem to be any gents on this thread, and I thought about what you'd said on the Granddads' thread - i.e. that anyone could pretend to be a member of either sex and we wouldn't know!

nag, Eh? What have I to do with gents and paranoia? Please

I trained as an 'Information Scientist' and worked as a business researcher for most of my career. Among the things we were taught to do, as well as evaluate the quality of our information sources, was what was known as 'reference interviewing' that is talking to the person who needed the information to find out exactly what they wanted to find out and what they wanted it for. Frequently what they asked for was not the information they actually needed. When i search online I frequently need to reformulate my search criteria to get the information I want.

Many 'googlers' are far too reliant on Google as a search engine. Google can only search about 10% of the information available on the internet and even then the chances of a site turning up in the first three pages of search results is dependent on the site being effectively indexed. There are a number of other search engines available, many of them specialising in particular fields, that produce better results than the generic google searching we all of us tend to rely on.

Yes I agree Greatnan and meant to say, the NHS patients site is very good indeed. There is also an "NHS evidence" bit if you want to research more deeply.

https://www.evidence.nhs.uk - they pick up on the Cochrane reports and other trials and research.

I check with the NHS website for medical questions. I was pretty sure I knew how to deal with my scald but it was reassuring to find the site advice agreed with me!

Gents?!
I think Bags has made me paranoid.....

Thanks for all the info - I agree it is a great tool for research but always backed up with research on other sites and methods too. I found the research on family trees especially fascinating. My point was that DIL just looks at the first thing that pops up - so will pass on all this info to her. Thank you ladies and or gents.

I trust your judgement on this Jess - thanks for the info.

Pubmed has limitations - it includes articles as well as research - these could be something like an editorial or opinion article. It is everything - good, bad and indifferent that is published in the journals. ALso the articles are written for medics and scientists and are often difficult for the untrained person to understand. A third issue is that one article rarely equates to "fact" - you might read it without knowing that there are half a dozen studies that contradict it's findings.
A much more useful site is:
http://www.cochrane.org/
This publishes independent review articles on various health topics. Scientists give their time to look at the well conducted research on a topic (excluding the badly done research) and determine whether any clear conclusions emerge. They are independent reviews of the evidence (and not just reviews, which can be biased)
The Internet is absolutely awash with really, really bad information about health. Much of it is trying to sell , snake oil, unregulated drugs or unproven supplements and remedies. Not to mention the unproven treatments for cancer.
"Clinics" in distant places that publicise expensive treatments are often bad news. Anyone in a desperate position should get a number of medical opinions before travelling long distances for this purpose. The exception might be properly conducted, ethical, clinical trials. Again, checking with some qualified people should help people to determine whether these trials are reputable. And of course a clinical trial means that the treatment is not yet proven to be useful.
Clinical trials should not charge for participation.

There are at least two aspects of any "research" conclusions to check - the structure of the actual "research", and the reputations, qualifications and funding of the people doing it.

DD2 is a microbiologist and told me to check all 'research' on the pubmed web site- All scientific research in the Western world and their results are published there and there is a search facility.

e.g. Tumeric against osteoarthritis. This is recommeneded and I went onto pubmed and found the under Results that the results were not conclusive.
In plain speak they were negative. That saved me money.

You may find that a lot of research is not to be found because it was bogus research. Your DIL has a lot of faith in the internet but she is not alone and you can find some good tips. I researched a forthcoming operation on my ear and learned that the ear would be half cut off and I should be lucky if it was ever straight again after being stiched back. An ENT Doctor had put that on the internet.

What happened was, in fact micro surgery, and my ear was never at any time cut off and stiched back again. I have been wary of the internet since those many sleepless nights worrying about my ear and what it would look like.

I like googling , brings a wider world to the door

Still like leafing through books, too, to find info. More pleasing, somehow.

Yes, checking the sources of information, and the original data they are basing their claims on, is an important study skill that sadly too few people learn.

I have never relied on one source for research – conventional (e.g. libraries) or electronic (e.g. Wikipedia). I always go to a minimum of three sources and sometimes many more.

Yes, I agree. You have to check out where the information is coming from, and cross-reference with other unrelated sites if you are not sure. Sometimes I will open one site and find it's got a different name from another identical one - obviously connected to each other.

I research stuff on the internet all the time but I don't just rely on one search , I'll look at several different search results over time and then make an informed decision.
I'm sure the mother in question was desperate to save her daughter and maybe not in a good state of mind to make choices.