JCPSLP Vol 18 no 2 2016

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72 JCPSLP Volume 18, Number 2 2016 Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology
Judging by our findings, it is likely that naïve searchers will
encounter limited information about AAC simply through the
use of generic terms such as communication app, but may
be less likely to find this information when diagnosis-specific
search terms are used.
Even when relevant to AAC in general, the specific focus
of many websites returned through Google may be a poor
match for those in search of practical advice. For instance,
only 4% of results from device-specific searches addressed
issues of implementation. Consequently, searching for a
specific AAC solution may unearth a plethora of information
on where to purchase it, but little on its suitability, viability, or
optimal use. Many of the products and services advertised
on-line were also inaccessible to Australian searchers.
Availability of such information is critical to informed
decision-making and implementation success, particularly
under the new NDIS. In anticipation of this problem
professionals should direct consumers to appropriate
information sources (e.g., specific websites or information
hubs) as necessary.
As on-line knowledge brokers, AAC service providers
and support organisations can play an important role
in supporting the NDIS’s ILC domain by optimising the
reach of quality on-line content. Particular attention should
be paid to page titles and salient keywords, which can
improve chances of search-engine retrieval. Internet-
based health information is frequently inaccessible to
people with disability and to those from non-English
speaking backgrounds, and often requires high levels of
reading proficiency (Greenberg, D’Andrea, & Lorence,
2004; Zaidman-Zait & Jamieson, 2007). Given that
accessibility issues will affect a large number of NDIS
service users, attention to these features in website design
is of paramount importance. Guidelines on web content
accessibility can be found at
php . By attending to issues of accessibility and visibility,
reputable knowledge brokers can help to improve access
to local and high-quality information for Australian AAC
consumers on-line.
Credibility and accuracy are not the
same thing
The credibility of a website becomes particularly salient to
those searching unfamiliar topics (Eastin, 2001). The indicators
most strongly associated with seekers rejecting a website
include a lack of authorship or source information, a heavy
commercial focus, and the presence of information the seeker
knew to be incorrect (Rice, 2006). Information websites
evaluated in the current study showed high variability in their
external credibility, with sites from several reputable
organisations lacking both citations and recency statements.
Several researchers have pointed out the inherent
limitation of putative credibility cues such as source and
author attributions, which can increase apparent credibility
but are no guarantee of quality (Eastin, 2001; Kunst &
Khan, 2002). Other credibility cues such as levels of
evidence and the presence of referencing present similar
risks given that, without peer review, evidence and citations
may be falsified or cherry-picked to support inaccurate
information. Furthermore, common indicators of credibility
have been shown at best to have only a weak correlation
with each other (Kunst & Khan, 2002). This finding was
mirrored in the chi-squared analyses from the current study
for the credibility indicators of recency and references,
suggesting that single measures may be insufficient
predictors of a website’s credibility or accuracy. In light of
these findings, training AAC consumers and their families
to “evaluate” on-line sources based on their apparent
credibility alone may not guarantee the retrieval of reliable
information. Given that approximately 35% of information
seekers do not consult with their health professional about
the information they find on-line (Fox & Duggan, 2013), it
is important for AAC professionals with expert knowledge
to initiate a dialogue about information seeking with health
consumers and their families (Roche & Skinner, 2009;
Zaidman-Zait & Jamieson, 2007).
At a broader level, official information hubs or wikis,
such as the proposed Newell network or the NDIS hub
), could be used to disseminate
evidenced-based information on communication disability,
intervention techniques and available products, in addition
Table 5: Presence of recency statements and citations for each type of information site
Purpose Recency Citations present
None >5 yrs <5yrs Total Stated N Y
Guidance/resources 20 3 14 17 (46%) 32 5 (14%)
Product/technique overview 50 7 31 38 (43%) 64 24 (27%)
Opinions and news 1 2 7 9 (90%) 2 8 (80 %)
Total 71 12 52 64 (47%) 98 37 (27%)
Table 6. Domain types for each category of information site
Purpose Non-commercial Total Commercial Other Total N/S
.edu .org .gov .com/.co .net
Guidance/resources 1 12 3 16 (43%) 19 1 1 21 (57%) 0
Product/technique overview 4 37 3 44 (51%) 24 7 11 42 (48%) 2
Opinions and news 0 3 0 3 (30%) 6 1 0 7 (70%) 0
Total 5 52 6 63 (47%) 49 9 12 70 (52%) 2