User:Allysch/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
(Provide a link to the article here.)

College health

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
(Briefly explain why you chose it, why it matters, and what your preliminary impression of it was.)

I have chosen to evaluate this article as I have a strong desire to learn about mental health. I have completed research about mental health in the past, but only for small discussion posts or as part of a group project. I am an advocate for mental health, I believe most Psychology students are, and hope to gain further knowledge on the subject. I specifically chose mental health in college students because individuals ages 18-23 are greatly impacted by anxiety, depression, and at a higher risk for suicide while in college. My preliminary impression of the article was that it was organized very well and included many sections on the topic of mental health. There was an overview on the topic, many examples of how mental health occurs, and resources for those in need. This topic and article matter because mental health is something that everyone occurs at least once in their lifetime, and it is important to know why it happens, what causes it, and that it is normal.

Evaluate the article
(Compose a detailed evaluation of the article here, considering each of the key aspects listed above. Consider the guiding questions, and check out the examples of what a useful Wikipedia article evaluation looks like.)

Yes, the lead provides an introductory sentence of what the article is about and gives a brief definition of what college health means. The lead does not foreshadow the information in the article very well, as the lead mentions little on the common health concerns of college students which makes up majority of the article. The lead seems to focus more on the ways mental health programs and health care professionals were brought to college campuses. The lead does not contain information that is not present in the article. The lead is overly detailed as it refers to specific foundations and organizations that brought mental health to college campuses, rather than advocating and informing about the definition of mental health and why it is occurring on college campuses.

Yes, the articles content is relevant to the topic. The article is up to date and was last edited January of 2024. The article also contains many examples of mental health concerns that are commonly seen and talked about on college campuses. The only thing missing is a greater definition of what mental health is described as. There are examples of ways individuals struggle, but not a clear definition of the term. The article does mention information about minority populations and addresses lower income individuals and those of minority races. I do not see much written about the difference in mental health concerns in relation to men and women.

The article is neutral, and does not favor a particular gender, race, or age group of college students. No, there are no claims that focus heavily on a particular position. There are no viewpoints that are over or underrepresented in the article. Minority viewpoints are accurately described, and the article does not attempt to swap the reader in a particular direction or viewpoint.

Yes, the points in the article are backed up with sources and provide links to these sources. The sources are thorough and provide more than enough information about the topics discussed in the article. The sources are not all current, some are approximately fifteen years old, but most are from accredited organizations and medical journals. There are few sources that are from the past five years. The sources are from a wide spectrum and variety of different authors, mostly those who say the same things but in a different manner. There are better sources available, possibly being first-hand experienced college students vs. organizational pages writing from an outside point of view on the topics discussed. The links provided in the article do work and lead to the appropriate article.

The article is well written, in a clear and easy to read manner. It is lacking a few definitions or in-depth explanations to certain concepts but gets the point across very well. There are no grammatical or spelling errors within the article. The article is organized very well and broken down into sections that make it very easy to understand. There are subtitles that house smaller sections of material as well. The article begins with the lead or introductory portion of the paper, which flows into the body and the conclusion section.

There are three photos within the article, all good quality and have information about what the photo is showing or representing. The photos however do not pertain to what is in the paragraph around the photo. The images shown are of three health service or mental health service buildings on three different college campuses. There is nothing significant about these three centers, and they are not tied in with the article’s information. It appears the images are simply showing buildings at different college campuses. The article does not explain why these images were chosen or what type of services these mental health buildings offer. The images do follow and adhere to Wikipedia copyright regulations but are not laid out in a visually appealing way. They seem rather pointless in the article.

I am sure there are conversations behind this topic of how to discuss mental health in college students without doing it in a respectful and judgmental manner. It is often difficult for those with mental health concerns and behavior to come to terms with a diagnosis and possible medical treatment. The article is rated well and as far as I am aware, is not part of any WikiProjects. The way Wikipedia portrays this article is no different than what we have discussed in class. It is free of grammatical and spelling errors, is written in an easy-to-read format, and is respectful and non-biased.

The overall status of the article gives a great overview of possible effects of mental health in college students. Academics, bullying, drug abuse, and many different mental health disorders are listed as ways mental health is caused. The greatest strength is the wide variety of examples of mental illness that students may have. There are statistics in all categories that show how likely a college student is to have this illness. There are also great definitions of what illness may be, such as anxiety may come from a large load of coursework, sports and extra activities, creating friendships and relationships, and covering the financial burden of tuition. The article could be improved by changing the lead to have more information about what the article is going to talk about. The lead seems to focus too much on what accredited organizations and foundations are advocating for mental health. This information should be at the bottom of the article where resources are provided for those in need. It seems that the writer is attempting to prove that people are doing something about mental illness, before the article even begins. The article could also use more material about the difference in athletes, men, women, and different age gaps for the different diagnoses. The articles completeness is very well developed. There are a few sentences that could be removed or moved around to make the article flow better but contains all of the necessary information.