User:Emga111/Evaluate an Article

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


 * Name of article: Indian Health Service
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate: I have chosen this article to evaluate because it focuses on my PE area and sector (health in the United States, and the specific institution through which much of the work is done, the Indian Health Service).

Lead

 * Guiding questions

The Lead does include an introductory sentence. It also contains a description of the major sections. The Lead does not seem to include information not present in the article. It is appropriately concise.


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Content

 * Guiding questions

The article's content is relevant. The content seems up to date, as it has been revised as early as yesterday, and multiple times this month. I did not see any content that doesn't belong and it seems very comprehensive.


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions

The article seems to be neutral. There do not appear to be claims biased toward a particular position. However, given the complex history and critiques of the IHS, these criticisms seem to be underrepresented. Perhaps the "issues" section should have been more comprehensive. I do not think the article attempts to persuade the reader in favor of any particular position.


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions

The majority of the facts seemed to be backed up. One statement, ". Others have concerns that the restrictions of the Indian-preference policy do not allow for the hiring of the most highly qualified health professionals and administration staff, so quality of care and efficiency of administration suffer" is not backed up and has [citation needed] next to it. There is also no citation for the paragraph about interns and externs. The sources do seem to be pretty thorough, but perhaps more peer-reviewed articles would be better. The sources seem more current than not. Most of the links work but there are a few (ex. https://www.ktvq.com/story/35873166/sen-tester-unloads-on-acting-indian-health-service-director-for-dodging-questions-about-budget and Biography - Martha Ketcher" (PDF). Indian Health Service. Retrieved 2013-03-2) have "page not found" issues. Additionally, there are some hyperlinks in red ink that go to Wikipedia pages that do not exist, so the word should not be linked.


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Organization

 * Guiding questions

The article is well-written and clearly organized. I did not identify any glaring grammatical issues, and there is a helpful "Contents" section at the top that displays the organization of the article. However, I think that it would make more organizational sense for "Administration" and "Services and Benefits" to come before "Employment" because these topics seem more relevant/informational.


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions

The article doesn't have many images at all. There is an image of the official logo and a graphic showing the numbers of patients served in each US state but that is the extent. The one graphic is well-captioned and appears to be adhering to Copyright (credit is given and linked). The one graphic is visually appealing, but I believe that having more images and graphics would improve the page.


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions

In the "talk" section, there are discussions that the page is lacking in accurate information and needs improvement. One user was especially disappointed that there was not much information on tribes taking over IHS programs and services. I don't see any rating of the article. It is part of 3 WikiProjects: "United States/Government", "Indigenous peoples of North America", and "Medicine." The way Wikipedia discusses this topic is very technical and focuses on the bureaucratic facts of the organization, and not as much as the impacts and the potential pitfalls of the actions that the organization is taking.


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions
 * I think overall, the article is well-written but could definitely be improved. The strengths are that there are a lot of facts about the organization itself (founding, employment, etc) and some history behind it. It can be improved by including more on the current and historical actions of the organization and the positive and negative impacts that these actions have had on AI/AN communities, as well as more about the resilience of indigenous groups and the current moves toward self-determination. I think it is somewhat under-developed.


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

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

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