User:DonInUtah

HI, I'm DonInUtah and I'm getting back into Wikipedia editing after a considerably long hiatus due to increased workload in my career. Topics I have particular interest in include business, medicine/biomedicine, fishing/outdoors, and geology. I am one of those unusual people who enjoys reading scientific and research journals for personal enjoyment and mental stimulation. I excel is in taking complex scientific information and re-writing it in a way that can be understood by general non-expert readers, while maintaining the integrity and accuracy to the original material.

Because of my personal interests and voracious reading appetite, I often find myself clicking down a maze of niche articles which often lead to less-read but personally interesting topics involving highly detailed and specific knowledge areas. While I absolutely love the wealth of information already on Wikipedia, and the fantastic communities who maintain many articles in these highly technical scientific specialties, I do often find that less commonly read articles, or articles on less newsworthy topics and businesses, can fall by the wayside and be left with information that is several years old and no longer accurate. When I come upon these articles, I do my best to bring them back up-to-date with more current information from verifiable sources.

Guiding principles I use when contributing to, or editing pages on complex scientific topics include:

Five pillars

Make technical articles understandable - "Wikipedia articles should have a straightforward, just-the-facts style. Every reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that material is presented in the most widely understandable manner possible. If an article is written in a highly technical manner, but the material permits a more understandable explanation, then editors are strongly encouraged to rewrite it."

WP:NOTJOURNAL "Scientific journals and research papers. A Wikipedia article should not be presented on the assumption that the reader is well versed in the topic's field. Introductory language in the lead and initial sections of the article should be written in plain terms and concepts that can be understood by any literate reader of Wikipedia without any knowledge in the given field before advancing to more detailed explanations of the topic. While wikilinks should be provided for advanced terms and concepts in that field, articles should be written on the assumption that the reader will not or cannot follow these links, instead attempting to infer their meaning from the text."

Know your audience "Wikipedia is not primarily aimed at experts; therefore, the level of technical detail in its articles must be balanced against the ability of non-experts to understand those details. When contributing scientific content, imagine you have been tasked with writing a comprehensive scientific review for a high school audience. It can be surprisingly challenging explaining complex ideas in an accessible, jargon-free manner. But it is worth the perseverance. You will reap the benefits when it comes to writing your next manuscript or teaching an undergraduate class.

Articles in progress and todo
I have noticed that a large number of business oriented pages have severely outdated information on them, including even the most easy to verify information such as financial information on publicly traded companies which is often outdated by several years. I plan to move through the List of S&P 500 companies and update some of this basic information which is severely outdated on less publicly well known, but still large businesses.
 * Alaska Air - Financials outdated 2+ years, few edits in 2021
 * American Tower - Financials outdated 2+ years, few edits in 2021
 * Amphenol - Financials outdated 3+ years, few edits in 2021
 * American Water Works - Financials outdated 4+ years, few edits in 2021
 * Baxter International - Financials outdated 4+ years, few edits in 2021
 * Incyte - Currently researching/editing as page was very thin and financials outdated by several years.

Other Interests:
 * Florida Gators - Updating with 2020-2021 athletics information
 * Red Tide - Updating with information on significant red tide in Tampa Bay area on FL Gulf Coast.

Useful Links and Policies
Reliable sources

WikiProject Medicine Policies and guidelines

WP:Teahouse. WP:THQ Ask questions, get answers.

WP:NPOV - Neutral Point of View

Ownership of content

Randy in Boise

List of Possible COI:

 * Realtor based in Utah
 * IT in the contact lens industry.