Table 1.
Description of the source, type, target audience, ‘credibility’ and main themes of the 41 websites identified from the combined searches.a
| Characteristics | n = 41 (%) |
|---|---|
| Website source | |
| .com | 35 (86%) |
| .org | 2 (5%) |
| .gov | 1 (2%) |
| .co | 3 (7%) |
| .edu | 0 (0%) |
| .net | 0 (0%) |
| Type of website | |
| Advice | 20 (49%) |
| Informative/educational | 7 (17%) |
| Home page | 7 (17%) |
| Sales | 2 (5%) |
| Forums | 4 (10%) |
| Factsheet | 1 (2%) |
| Target audience | |
| Female only | 6 (15%) |
| Male only | 0 (0%) |
| Both sexes | 3 (7%) |
| Female, mentioned males | 26 (63%) |
| Broad | 2 (5%) |
| N/A | 4 (10%) |
| Website’s acknowledgment of reference sources | |
| Reference to doctor/healthcare professional | 12 (26%) |
| Cited (may include source list) | 10 (21%) |
| Peer reviewed | 2 (4%) |
| Factual (linked to org.) | 1 (2%) |
| Advice/opinion | 2 (4%) |
| No cited evidence | 14 (30%) |
| N/A (e.g. personal blog) | 6 (13%) |
| Frequency of themes identified within each search term | (presented as %) |
| ‘Trying to conceive’ | |
| Conception behaviour and monitoring | 89% |
| Lifestyle and exposure | 67% |
| Medical | 67% |
| ‘Why am I not getting pregnant?’ | |
| Conception behaviour and monitoring | 8% |
| Lifestyle and exposure | 83% |
| Medical | 67% |
| ‘Trouble getting pregnant’ | |
| Conception behaviour and monitoring | 64% |
| Lifestyle and exposure | 73% |
| Medical | 82% |
N/A, not applicable.
a
Categories are not mutually exclusive, as some sites referenced more than one source. Theme frequency excluded home pages and sales websites.