Establish The Trustworthiness Of Your Site

Include the following key information about the sponsoring organization, in an

“about us” page. Make sure it is easy to find/access:

• Full name of organization
• Address and telephone number
• Information on the Board of Directors and/or Executive Staff, including their names, credentials, professional experience, and affiliations.

The New York University Child Study Center (http://www.aboutourkids.org) has an “About Us” page that informs the viewer of the center’s work:

Explicitly list government agency, educational, institutional or other affiliations.

• Name sponsoring departments, parent agencies, or educational institutions.
• State how the organizations are related. Succinctly explain partnerships, sources of funding, endorsements, collaborations and other relationships.

CYFERnet (http://www.cyfernet.org) also has a detailed “About Us” page:

Summarize the organization’s activities in enough detail so that a visitor can understand what the organization does and its scope.  List:

• History – Who founded the organization?  How and why?
• Mission – What are the purpose, values and goals of the organization?
• Activities – What is the work of the organization? For example, deliver services to children and families, conduct research on child-related topics, advocate for children and families, etc.
• Sources of funding, past and present

Another example of an effective “About Us” page can be found on the Child Welfare League of America's website (http://www.cwla.org):

Include the author’s name and qualifications when posting articles or other content on the site.  For example, include:

• Education credentials – PhD, M.D. etc.
• Institutional affiliation – Professor at NYU, Research Fellow at NIMH, etc.
• Professional experience – director of program, principal investigator, etc.
• Publications – mention names of publications, or link to selected

The New York University Child Study Center (http://www.aboutourkids.org) lists the credentials, qualifications and professional associations of the authors it publishes:

Provide evidence of the age of material and frequency of site maintenance on as many pages as possible. Establishing this trustworthiness can be done in several ways:

• “last updated” announcement on home page
• “last updated” announcement on interior pages
• give date of publication for posted articles
• give copyright date for posted articles, reports, brochures or book excerpts
• give date of posting on your site for articles and other content

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (http://www.aacap.org) clearly indicates the date that content was last updated: