User:Michelle Roos/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: Neurodegeneration
 * I have chosen to evaluate this article because it provides a useful overview of neurodegeneration, a central topic of my research project this semester. This article describes the biological mechanisms that underlie neurogeneration and discusses how these processes occur in several of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. Moving along with my research project, it will be vital that I have a solid background knowledge in this area so that I can construct a stronger argument regarding the societal perspectives and governmental policies that dictate the lives of individuals affected by these disorders.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Lead evaluation
The Lead begins with an introductory sentence defining neurodegeneration, the topic of the article. The Lead briefly describes the main sections of the article: specific types of neurodegenerative disorders, subcellular-level similarities between disorders, current therapeutic research, and different levels of neurodegeneration. All information mentioned in the Lead is present in the article. The Lead provides a sufficiently broad outline of the article while managing to remain concise.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Content evaluation
The content of the article is relevant to the topic of neurodegeneration. The content of the article is up-to-date with the scientific community's current understanding of the risk factors and cellular processes behind the development of neurogenerative disorders. However, the management section could be updated to include research initiatives more recent than those conducted in 2009-2010. Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? The subsection about Batten disease is extremely vague compared to the subsections about the other neurodegenerative disorders. There is not any content present in the article that does not belong there.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Tone and balance evaluation
A neutral tone is maintained throughout the article. The claims are based on well-established understandings of scientific concepts based on reputable experimental data. There are neither overrepresented nor underrepresented viewpoints. The article presents the factual information in a straightforward manner and makes no attempt to persuade the reader to favor a certain position.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Sources and references evaluation
All facts in the article that are not common knowledge within the scientific community are backed up by a reliable reference. Sources are thoroughly integrated into the article and are reflective of current knowledge of neurodegeneration based on fairly recent experimental research articles. The links work properly.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Organization evaluation
The article is written well and conveys the information in a clearly comprehensible manner. There are no grammatical or spelling errors present in the article. The article is logically organized based on topics including specific disorders, risk factors, mechanisms, and management, and most topics include more specific sub-topics where the content is explored in greater depth.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Images and media evaluation
The article only includes one image showing an MRI scan of a patient with benign familial macrocephaly. The image is appropriately captioned and adheres to Wikipedia's copyright regulations. The image is presented in the beginning of the article in a visually appealing way. However, the article could benefit from the addition of more images to facilitate the reader's understanding of the content, specifically relating to the complex molecular mechanisms that lead to the development of neurodegenerative disorders, which can be difficult to visualize.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Talk page evaluation
Wikipedia editors have discussed whether certain neurological disorders such as benign familial macrocephaly and chronic traumatic encephalopathy should be included in this article. Other users have reviewed the images and references to determine if any of them should be replaced. The possibility of merging this article about neurodegeneration with another existing article about neurodegenerative disorders has been suggested based on the significant overlap of information between the two. The article currently has a C-class rating, although one user claimed that it may qualify for classification as a B-class rating. The article is affiliated with three WikiProjects regarding Neurology, Neuroscience, and Epilepsy.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * 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?

Overall evaluation
Overall, the article provides an adequate introduction to the topic of neurodegeneration. The article's strengths include its detailed descriptions of the similarities in the molecular and cellular abnormalities common to different types of neurodegenerative disorders, while its weaknesses include its lack of images and little emphasis on current research into therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders. The article is mostly well-developed, with the exception of one subtopic with little content.

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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