Bottom Line:
Information about the symptoms of prostate cancer and the treatments currently available
Publication details:
The following topics are covered:
- Stage and grade
- Treatment (early disease, locally advanced disease, metastatic disease)
- Future treatments
We assessed this page using an appraisal instrument developed by Minervation specifically for this project. This approach is still in development, so you should regard the assessments as a general guide. Click here to find out more, or to let us know how you think the approach could be improved.
Reliability comments:
- References are provided
- It is not clear if the page content has been checked by a relevant expert
- It is clear who has developed the website
- No statement about the website's editorial policy
Usability comments:
- The page is very long
- Specialist terminology used
- The website conforms to web accessibility standards
- The website categories don't fit users' needs
- Easy to get lost within the website
Scoring
Reliability
| Item |
Score |
| Is it clear who has developed the web site and what their objectives are? |
3 |
| There is an About Us section. |
| Does the site report a robust quality control procedure? |
1 |
| No details of how the information for the website is produced is available. |
| Is the page content checked by an expert? |
2 |
| It is not clear if the page content has been checked by a relevant expert |
| Is the page updated regularly? |
2 |
| The page was last updated on 9 October 2009. |
| Does the page cite relevant sources where appropriate? |
3 |
| References are provided |
Usability
| Item |
Score |
| Is the site accessible without a login? |
3 |
| No registration required. |
| Does the site conform to web Accessibility standards? |
1 |
| Lida score 94% |
| Is the site design clear and transparent? |
3 |
| The homepage is laid out well and the horizontal tab menu is good. The website also clearly displays links to the three additional Cancer Research UK websites where users can get additional information. Each major section on the website is colour coded. |
| Is the site design consistent from one page to another? |
1 |
| Site design is mostly consistent except that some of the links take users to information on the other Cancer Research websites. This is potentially confusing for users. |
| Can users find what they need on the site? |
1 |
| It is possible to browse to prostate cancer from the homepage, although this could be made quicker if there was a topic tree on the homepage. The website has a search facility and search results are displayed clearly. It is unclear how search results are ranked. The colour coded site map is good. However, the website fails to alert users adequately to the fact that the other Cancer Research UK websites contain much more cancer information too. |
| Is the format of information clear and appropriate for the audience? |
2 |
| The page is very long. Specialist terminology used |
| Weighted total (Usability + (Reliability x 2)): |
33 |
We score each question out of three where:
| 0 |
= Never or Can't tell |
| 1 |
= Sometimes or partly |
| 2 |
= Mostly |
| 3 |
= Always |
|
Prostate Cancer symptoms and treatment
