Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the readability of information on the Internet posted about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) to determine how closely these materials are written to the recommended reading levels. Using the search term "coronavirus," information posted on the first 100 English language websites was identified. Using an online readability calculator, multiple readability tests were conducted to ensure a comprehensive representation would result. The mean readability scores ranged between grade levels 6.2 and 17.8 (graduate school level). Four of the 5 measures (GFI, CLI, SMOG, FRE) found that readability exceeded the 10th grade reading level indicating that the text of these websites would be difficult for the average American to read. The mean reading level for nearly all noncommercial and commercial websites was at or above the 10th grade reading level. Messages about COVID-19 must be readable at an "easy" level, and must contain clear guidelines for behavior. The degree to which individuals seek information in response to risk messages is positively related to the expectation that the information will resolve uncertainty. However, if the information is too complex to interpret and it fails to lead to disambiguation, this can contribute to feelings of panic.
Highlights
For the 100 websites examined, the mean readability scores ranged between grade levels 6.2 and 17.8
Four of the 5 measures (GFI, Coleman-Liau Index (CLI), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG), Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease (FRE)) found that readability exceeded the 10th grade reading level, indicating that the text of these websites would be difficult for the average American to read (Table 1)
The mean reading level for most noncommercial and commercial websites was at or above the 10th grade reading level with the exception of commercial URLs scored with the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) (9.9; SD 1.7) (Table 2)
Summary
Using the search term “coronavirus,” information posted on the first 100 English language websites was identified. Using an online readability calculator, multiple readability tests were conducted to ensure a comprehensive representation would result. The methods for this study were based on a prior cross-sectional study assessing readability.[5] Using the keyword “coronavirus,” a search of the Internet using Google Chrome as a browser was conducted. Websites were vetted to ascertain that they contained relevant content written in English. The sample was comprised of information from the first 100 websites that met the inclusion criteria resulting from the search. Articles were included if they were written in the English language, contained material relevant to COVID-19, and had a distinct URL leading to an article as opposed to a “splash” or menu page. Articles were excluded if they were derived from a sponsored website
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