Assessing the readability of online information about jones fracture

Table 1 Unpaired t-test for overall pages vs first page of websites

Readability metric	Overall mean ± SD (range)	First page mean ± SD (range)	Percentage mean difference	P value
Flesch reading ease	55.3970 ± 12.7618 (23.2-86.1)	55.3290 ± 15.9812 (9.9-87.4)	2.32	0.553
Flesch-kincaid	10.1450 ± 2.7082 (5.0-20.1)	10.3840 ± 3.2056 (4.9-18.9)	0.47	0.915
Gunning fog	12.7830 ± 2.8099 (8.2-23.5)	12.4210 ± 3.1772 (7.6-20.7)	3.86	0.287
SMOG	9.3530 ± 1.9114 (5.6-15.8)	9.3000 ± 2.3224 (5.1-16.3)	2.27	0.523
Coleman-liau index	12.2460 ± 1.4778 (7.5-16.1)	11.9970 ± 2.2096 (8-19)	4.64	0.41
Automated readability	10.2340 ± 3.0205 (4.6-22.0)	10.5680 ± 3.6182 (3.8-19.2)	1.05	0.824
Average grade level	10.95230 ± 2.27862 (6.18-18.88)	10.93420 ± 2.73413 (6.22-18.48)	0.09	0.888

Table 2 Percentage of websites and their grade level

Classification	n	Percentage	Average grade level	St. Dev.	Maximum	Minimum
Academic	8	0.0860	11.36	± 3.33	18.88	8.54
Physician sponsored	21	0.2258	10.93	± 1.71	13.42	8.74
Governmental & NGO	21	0.2258	11.51	± 2.56	15.68	6.18
Commercial	40	0.4301	10.84	± 2.06	18.02	6.46
Unspecified	3	0.0323	7.61	± 1.24	8.32	6.18

NGO: Non-government organizations.

Table 3 Unpaired t-test for government non-government organizations vs academic websites

Readability metric	Government & NGO mean ± SD (range)	Academic mean ± SD (range)	Percentage mean difference	P value
Flesch reading ease	49.0330 ± 17.4883 (28.0-86.1)	53.5880 ± 14.3224 (23.2-66.6)	4.438	0.276
Flesch-Kincaid	10.7860 ± 2.9066 (5.0-15.6)	10.825 ± 4.083 (7.5-20.1)	0.362	0.554
Gunning fog	13.529 ± 2.869 (8.2-18.5)	13.1500 ± 4.5056 (9.6-23.5)	2.838	0.475
SMOG	9.8860 ± 2.1763 (5.6-13.4)	9.7880 ± 2.8478 (7.2-15.8)	0.998	0.453
Coleman-liau index	13.1670 ± 2.2265 (7.5-16.1)	12.0500 ± 0.7051 (11.2-13.0)	8.857	0.086
Automated readability	10.200 ± 2.8660 (4.6-16.0)	11.0000 ± 4.7413 (7.2-22.0)	7.547	0.290
Average grade level	11.51330 ± 2.55634 (6.18-15.68)	11.36250 ± 3.33421 (8.54-18.88)	1.319	0.665
Complex words	130.81 ± 117.662 (44-459)	122.380 ± 51.578 (70-210)	6.663	0.304
Percentage of complex words	0.1746810 ± 0.0552751 (0.0538-0.2356)	0.1414500 ± 0.0334975 (0.1063-0.1860)	21.024	0.187
Average words per sentence	16.90710 ± 3.23038 (14.03-25.71)	20.32130 ± 8.64815 (14.12-40.74)	18.341	0.090
Average syllables per word	1.67520 ± 0.19457 (1.21-1.85)	1.56750 ± 0.07459 (1.49-1.68)	6.645	0.041

NGO: Non-government organizations.