Readability of Turkish Websites Containing COVID-19 Information

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate the readability levels of the information published on Turkish online sites about coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) as well as their contents.
METHODS: The data of this descriptive study was obtained through http: //www.google.com.tr, a frequently used search engine in Turkey. In May 2020, 464 websites accessed in the first 10 pages were evaluated using searches obtained using the keywords “Coronavirus,” “COVID-19,” and “What is the Coronavirus.” The websites have been subsequently classified, analyzed, and divided into two groups according to the person, institution, organization, and so on uploading the information. The first group includes websites prepared by hospitals, government agencies, universities, and the second group includes websites prepared by news agencies and others.
RESULTS: This study included 73 sites, 25 (34.2%) and 48 (65.8%) in the first and second groups, respectively. The median Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz readability values of all sites included in the present study were 52.2 (46.2–57.3) and 11.9 (10.5–13.8), respectively. Moreover, the median number of syllables in the words, the median number of words in the sentence, and the median number of words in the sentence with 4 syllables or more were 2.8 (2.7–2.9), 12.4 (10.8–13.6), and 3.5 (3.0–4.2), respectively. Thus, the readability range of all sites included in the study is of medium difficulty according to Ateşman.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Consequently, the readability levels of Turkish websites about COVID-19 are determined to be of moderate difficulty and high school according to Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz, respectively.