User:Kborys1/sandbox

List of Wikipedia articles with MLA citations
 * Narwhal

"Narwhal" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Sep. 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal

"Narwhal" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/403738/narwhal


 * Rhinoceros

"Rhinoceros" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Sep. 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros

"Narwhal" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/501391/rhinoceros

"Muskox" Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 29 Sep. 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskox
 * Muskox

"Muskox" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 29 Sep. 2014. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/399336/musk-ox

Thoughts on these articles

I decided to use a theme in order to choose my articles, the theme I went with was "animals with horns". Using my own knowledge of mammals, I simply Googled each one and found their respective Wikipedia pages. Finding the articles on the Encyclopædia Britannica was equally as easy, I used their search function to pull up each of the pages. My initial thoughts regarding Wikipedia vs other encyclopedias is that clearly any other source other than Wikipedia will be more reliable. That being said, I do think that articles on a more popular topic found on Wikipedia would be fairly trustworthy sources of information. These more popular articles are being viewed multiple times a day, and even though it is possible to edited articles, it's unlikely that faulty information would stay posted for long.

Research Essay

As stated in the Wikipedia article entitled Muskox, muskoxen are thick-coated Artic mammals, part of the Bovidae family. Their name comes from the musky smell produced by the males during mating season. A typical animal will grow up to 5 feet high at the shoulder and weigh between 400 and 900 lbs. Muskox have a thick coat of hair of various colours, which is sometimes used for wool. These animals live in small herds of around 12-24. Though the species has been under threat in the past because of severe hunting, there are no immediate threats to the population at this time.

Similarly to the Wikipedia page, Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) notes that Muskoxen are “shaggy-haired” Arctic mammals, a part of the Bovidae family. Their name comes from their musky order and also their similarities to the ox. Muskoxen that live further north are smaller than their southern counterparts. Both sexes of animals have horns, males having larger ones. These animals travel in herds of 20-30. Muskoxen were overhunted in the 19th century, but today are at safe numbers.

These two articles have much of the same information, other than a few details. The article on Wikipedia seems to have more extensive information on the topic however, though perhaps being a less reliable source. The Wikipedia article gives a lot more in depth information about the fossil history and the relatives of the muskoxen, while the Encyclopedia Britannica article only offers a one-paragraph explanation of their history.

There were also several differences between the two articles. The Wikipedia article lists oxen herds as being between 12 and 24 animals, while the Encyclopedia Britannica lists them as having larger, 20-30 animal herds. The Wikipedia article provides Asia as a starting point of the Muskoxen’s evolution, while the Encyclopedia Britannica article simply states that they were “circumpolar in distribution”.

These two articles both have several links available for further reading on the topic of muskoxen. The Encyclopedia Britannica page has 7 external links, and two other pages on their own site geared towards audiences of different age groupings. Most of the off-site links provided by EB seem to be fairly reputable. Sources such as National Geographic, Illinois State Museum and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are legitimate trusted sources of information. One of the listed sites however, Buzzle.com, did not seem to have any real credibility.

The Wikipedia article had many more useful links in their article. Their original article sited 40 references alone, and provided 5 further links for more reading. Most of the references and links provided were from good sources, including several from government agencies, universities and sites such as National Geographic.

In my opinion, both of these articles have useful information, however the Wikipedia article seems to have the best selection to chose from. The article has its information clearly sectioned into six different sections: introduction, evolution, physical characteristics, ecology, social behavior and reproduction and conservation status. Wikipedia provides an almost three thousand word article, citing from various sources while the EB article is less than five hundred words in length and listed only a few sources.

There is a lot of discussion in the “talk” section of the Wikipedia article in regards to whether or not the muskoxen are an endangered animal. Though the article itself lists them as not endangered, there were several comments indicating that users found this information to not be accurate. This brings some lack of credibility to the article, considering the endangerment status of a species is critical and important information to know.

Bibliography

"Muskox." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 11 July 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Geist, Valerius. "Web Sites: Musk Ox (mammal)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Gunn, A. & Forchhammer, M. 2008. Ovibos moschatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. . Downloaded on 10 November 2014.

"Musk-Oxen, Musk-Ox Pictures, Musk-Ox Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

"Hinterland Who's Who - Muskox." Hinterland Who's Who - Muskox. 1 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

News, CBC. "Rare Muskox Spotted in Northern Manitoba Raises Hopes for Its Return." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Dumond, M. 2006. Review of muskox populations status in the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut. Government of Nunavut, Department of Environment, Interim Wildlife Report: 6, Iqaluit, 29 pp.

"Environment and Natural Resources." Environment and Natural Resources. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

"Muskox (Prehistoric): Natural History Notebooks." Muskox (Prehistoric): Natural History Notebooks. 28 May 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

"Muskox." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

"The Musk Ox." The Musk Ox. < http://www.moskussafari.no/en/musk_ox.htm> Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

"Muskox Suffered Loss Of Genetic Diversity At Pleistocene/Holocene Transition." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.