By Alessandra Suuberg, Decency LLC
As publication media, websites and blogs are relatively fluid.
Once a traditional print publication has gone to press, the author or editors typically cannot go back and change the original paper copies and archived PDFs. In contrast, online, it is relatively easy to change information presented on a website or in an online-only publication at any time, with or without publicly documenting that a change was made.
Furthermore, the internet is home to various online encyclopedias that can reflect countless cumulative efforts and changes by volunteer editors and contributors around the world over time.
In this context, digital tools that allow the public to track changes over time can become helpful allies to researchers, writers, fact-checkers, and editors.
One recent (September 2023) study from PLOS ONE and a team of French researchers illustrated this point. The team proposed using the online, volunteer-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia as a “historiographical source,” tracing developments in a particular scientific field by studying developments in Wikipedia articles and references over time.
The idea underlying their effort was, essentially, that changelogs can be used to study the history of science. The researchers noted that Wikipedia had already been used in a similar way to examine political events.
It is interesting to think now about the kinds of online tools and methods that might develop for tracing changes over time—publicly documented or not—in healthcare information presented online, and what might be learned from their use.
Disclaimer: The information and opinions on this site do not include legal advice or the advice of a licensed healthcare provider.