Social Web: Web 2.0 Technologies to Enhance Knowledge Communities - Community-Built Databases: Research and Development - page 10

similar medications and see what did or did not work for them [ 19 ]. WiserTogether
( http://www.wisertogether.com ) which focuses mainly on maternity and pregnancy
is another example of a website where the members write entries sharing their health
problems and experiences with treatment methods. The sites generally have evolved
from the encyclopedic-styled WebMD and become more interactive and case study
oriented.
DoublecheckMD ( http://www.doublecheckmd.com ) is a site that uses natural
language recognition to allow consumers to search medical documents and match
symptoms with the drugs they are taking. DoubleCheckMD.com [ 22 ] is a search
engine which uses and recognizes symptom description expressed in everyday
language to allow consumers to search medical documents for information on
adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interaction, and sole drugs side effects. This is
especially important for the side effects of drugs and drug interactions that may
result in medical conditions. The website shows the potential for extracting infor-
mation from the millions and millions of pages of medical texts and presenting it to
the users in a useful format. With the “Next Step” tag feature, the website also
allows its users to learn how they should proceed, or what laboratory tests they
should take next. The idea of presenting this information to the patient is that the
patient can be better informed when visiting the doctor's office to decide on the next
set of appropriate steps.
Vitals ( http://www.vitals.com ) is a doctor directory which serves as a one-stop
shop for information about physicians and is publicized as a “source for compre-
hensive medical information on 720,000 doctors nationwide”. Health consumers
can find a doctor for a particular location and required expertise. The site uses
reported empirical data, patient reviews, and physician reviews of their peers.
1.4 Social Web and Research Communities
Social networks underlying Web 2.0 technologies have also created tremendous
collaborative opportunities for the research community. The speed and ease
of connectivity afforded by social media and Web 2.0 tools has reduced the barriers
to collaboration among researchers in various disciplines and professions [ 23 ].
Such networks are revolutionalizing how scientists and researchers in different
geographic locations can interact and work with each other on various research
projects ranging from small-scale to international issues affecting the global soci-
ety. The ability to connect with other researchers across disciplines and large
geographical boundaries is even more significant and holds even greater promises
for researchers in developing countries and experts with unusual specialties to find
collaborators. Notable examples of knowledge networks for the scientific research
community include ResearchGate, Academia.edu, Labmeeting, and Mendeley.
ResearchGATE ( http://www.researchgate.net ) is a scientific network with over
200,000 members that provides powerful collaboration tools, contents tailored to