Library Assist: Answers

StatPearls publish an online 'book' accessible via the U.S. National Library of Medicine's NCBI website. The company also has a subscription website providing American-based Health and Medical literature. If you have used PubMed or Google to find information for your assignment instead of the LibrarySearch catalogue, you may see their sources in your search results.

Is StatPearls reliable to use?

• The first thing to flag is that StatPearls isn't necessarily the most reliable of sources.
• At the bottom of the StatPearls book home page it states that "the intent of StatPearls review books and articles is to identify knowledge deficits and assist you in the learning process. Review books and articles are not intended to be a source of the knowledge base of medicine. The authors and editors do not warrant the information is complete or accurate. The reader is encouraged to verify content and questions in several references. All drug indications and dosages should be verified before administration". 
• On that basis, it is advisable to treat StatPearls information with caution and use alternative sources if possible.

If I can verify the information is reliable, how do I reference it?

• If you do decide to use the Statpearls book as a source for your work, referencing it can be awkward.
• One option would be to treat it is an e-book, following the Cite Them Right advice for Electronic Books (ebooks) (login required) by including the web address and date you accessed the page.
• Alternatively, you could treat any individual topic page as a webpage with named authors (if available) or with StatPearls as the organisational author. 
• However, you would need to be satisfied that the information you use is accurate and reliable.
• If in doubt, check with your lecturers in case they'd be likely to mark you down on your choice of sources.