User:Artemismargaronis/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
*** NOTE LARA AND I WORKED TOGETHER***

This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: Indian Child Welfare Act
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * We chose to evaluate this article because it was suggested by our professor and we have been discussing this topic recently in class.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes, the lead describes the Indian Child Welfare Act as "a Federal law that governs jurisdiction over the removal of Native American (Indian) children from their families in custody, foster care and adoption cases" enacted in 1978. This is concise, accurate, and clear.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * The lead does not include a brief description of the articles major sections. This needs to be added, because the only place to find this information is the contents table.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * No, the lead does not include information that is not present in the article.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * The lead is very concise.

Lead evaluation
Even though the lead is very concise and accurate, it could use some more information because it is very short. For example, information could be added about the contents of the article and a general summary of the article.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes, the content in the article is all about the Indian Child Welfare Act. It goes over the ICWA history and procedures, and also looks at its representation in pop culture.
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Yes, the article is up to date. It was last edited on January 22, 2020 at 9:44 pm.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * There isn't any irrelevant content in this article.

Content evaluation
The content of the ICWA Wikipedia article is up to date and correct; we found no irrelevant content.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Overall, the article is neutral. We did not find any evidence of bias towards either side.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * This sentence: "By working with ICWA and the tribes to create preventative services that are culturally sensitive, states can dramatically change outcomes of families who come to their attention." suggests action that should be taken by the state, which indicates support for the ICWA, and moves away from the general neutral tone of the article.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * It seems that the viewpoints of Native Americans are not included in this article. In such a discussion, there should be a hefty amount of Native American perspective. In the article, the only mention of Native American stories is the discussion of the Adoptive Couple vs. Baby Girl case.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
 * Overall, this article does not attempt to persuade.

Tone and balance evaluation
Overall, the article does not attempt to persuade and presents facts about the ICWA.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Yes, there are reliable secondary sources
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Generally, most of the sources cited are very thorough. For example, the one of the most cited sources is the law itself, which is definitely a neutral and accurate way to report on the act. Some of the sources are also reservation newspaper articles, which is a great way to get insight into the effects of the act on the Native Americans themselves.
 * Are the sources current?
 * The ICWA was passed in 1978, so sources (other than sources regarding the current impact of the act) do not need to be extremely current, but sources are current enough when taking the subject matter into account.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * All the links in the source list that we checked work.
 * All the links in the source list that we checked work.

Sources and references evaluation
All the sources are relevant and relatively current, many of them are government sources which is helpful because they allow us to look into the ICWA in a historical sense.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Most of the article is concise and well written, however, the "Existing Indian Family Exception" section could be a bit more organized/sectioned off to make it easier to read.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * We did not find any grammatical or spelling errors.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
 * Yes, the article is well- organized and includes sections that are helpful when reporting about a law or government act (i.e. history, procedures, and relevant court cases).

Organization evaluation
The article is well organized and concise.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * There is only one image under the “maintaining tribal relationships” category, however, other than this there are no other guiding images.
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * There is not much detail about the one image. It is not clear where the image is from and I think this could be useful. Although, when you click on the image it guides you to a new link with more detail.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Yes, they have received permission to use the photo.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
 * The picture is simply laid out on the right side - not too appealing, but not distractingly unappealing either.

Images and media evaluation
The article lacks images, which could be helpful in understanding the effects and impact of the ICWA.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * The discussions are based on whether or not sources are neutral and whether or not these should be used. In addition, there was some conversation about information being misplaced and/or needing to create new categories for it.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * On WikiProject Law it is rated C-class and low importance. It is additionally part of the Wikiproject Indigenous people of North America, and Wikiproject of the United States.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * Wikipedia holds no bias when discussing the ICWA. However, I feel that while we were discussing in class a lot of individuals had strong opinions about this topic and this was identified in how they spoke about it. This might be due to the fact that we are college students and all hold specific views on how our generation should change the world. On Wikipedia, there is no emotion.

Talk page evaluation
There is generally civilized conversation among people who are very passionate about the subject and seem qualified to be writing about it.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * The article has good coverage and offers a wide range of subcategories.
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * The article’s strengths include providing a wide variety of topics and a large amount of detail.
 * How can the article be improved?
 * Adding more guiding images would be useful.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * The article is well developed. However, the “Representation in popular culture” subcategory could provide more detail.

Overall evaluation
The article is not biased, includes good source representation, and good categories. Adding more images/diagrams/visuals would be helpful, however.

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

with four tildes — ~


 * Link to feedback: