Orthopaedic Web Links (OWL): a way to find professional orthopaedic information on the internet.

Abstract

Finding useful high-grade professional orthopaedic information on the Internet is often difficult. Orthopaedic Web Links (OWL) is a searchable database of vetted online orthopaedic resources. OWL uses a subject directory (OWL Directory) and a custom search engine (OWL Web) to provide a list of resources. The most effective way to find readily accessible, full text on-subject material suitable for education of an orthopaedic surgeon or trainee has not been defined. We therefore (1) proposed a method for selecting topics and evaluating searches and (2) compared the search results from an orthopaedic-specific directory (OWL Directory), a custom search engine (OWL Web), and standard Google searches. A scoring system for evaluation of the search results was developed for standardized comparison. Single words and sets of three words from randomly selected examination questions provided the search strings to compare the three strategies. For single keyword searches, the OWL Directory scored highest (16.4/50) of the three methods. For the three keywords searches, OWL Web had the highest mean score (26.0/50), followed by Google (22.8/50), and the OWL Directory (1.0/50). OWL Web searches had higher scores than Google searches, while returning 800 times fewer search results. The OWL Directory of orthopaedic subjects on the Internet provides a simple browsable category structure to find information. The OWL Web search engine scored higher than Google and resulted in a greater proportion of valid, on-subject, and accessible resources in the search results.