User:Mvmcdo20/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: Daphnia
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I chose this article because it is within limnology, but seems specific enough that it may not be perfected yet.

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 has a strong introductory sentence and is concise. The Lead introduces most of the topics in the article, but does not talk about their reproduction, conservation, or invasive species.

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 seems appropriate for the species, considering its life cycle, ecological significance, and scientific importance.

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
The tone and balance of the article is professional and neutral. No aspects of the article seems to be persuasive towards any specific opinion.

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
Some of the facts throughout the article do not have references. The references listed work and seem appropriate, but appear to be only a small subset of the relevant sources. Daphnia are well researched but the article only contains 19 refences.

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
Yes, the article seems well organized and edited.

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 uses goo images that are well captioned. I don't know how to tell if the images follow copyright regulations.

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
Most of the conversations are question and answer based. Lots of editors are asking questions about phrasing or details and the authors are responding with corrections or deletions. The pages is a part of the Arthropods WikiProjects and the Aquarium Fishes WikiProject, although I'm not sure it belongs in the Aquarium Fish project. It has been rated as C-Class within both projects. Wikipedia's discussion focuses much more on 'correct terminology' than ecology our class worries about.

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
This article provides a decent overview of Daphnia, but could definitely use some more development, including a section on ecological and scientific significance.

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: