User:Zoe.Pierson050/Choose an Article

Article Selection
Please list articles that you're considering for your Wikipedia assignment below. Begin to critique these articles and find relevant sources.

Option 1:
Article Title:

Social comparison theory

Article Evaluation

The article itself is very well composed. Each piece of evidence supporting the main argument surrounding social comparison theory, and as the author dives into the theory itself, is backed by a source which is cited at the bottom of the page, making it a trustworthy site. The layout of the page is easy to follow and allows the reader to look at specific areas of interest including the sub-divisions of the theory, the models of social comparison, the initial background of the theory itself, and how it has been developed by the main and additional theorists. There seem to be no large grammatical errors and proves to be an intelligently written article. There are no images within the page, which could prove to enhance the learning if the author decided to add some. At the end of the article the author includes criticism of the theory in order to expand the readers general knowledge on the theory and offers other effects similar to the social comparison theory (social projection and frog pond effect). Overall, this article is very strong and the author clearly put time and effort into its creation.

Sources

The book titled Handbook of Social Comparison: Theory and Research, written by Jerry M. Suls could be used to enhance the page even though the page stands to be great on its own.

Another site I found which could offer more information is called “A Social Comparison Theory Meta-Analysis 60+ Years On”, and could offer more information on the theory. This was found on the uOttawa library site and the citation is; Gerber, J. P., Wheeler, L., & Suls, J. (2018). A social comparison theory meta-analysis 60+ years on. Psychological Bulletin, 144(2), 177-197. doi: http://dx.doi.org.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/10.1037/bul0000127

Option 2
Article Title:

Dimensions of globalization

Article Evaluation:

The article under discussion is well put together, but focuses on one theorist's (Manfred Steger) ideas surrounding the dimensions of globalizations. In order to properly convey the work that will be explored and the ideas that will be expanded on, the page should include “Manfred Steger” in the title. One option would be to change it to “Stegers Dimensions of Globalization”. The Dimensions of the theory are well displayed for the reader and offer well composed sources for each section. Each section could be expanded upon in order to give more information concerning the topic, but the author has created a great base of which the reader can grab a general sense of dimensions of globalization. There seem to be no spelling mistakes, or at least none that take away from the overall impact of the article. Overall, this article needs to be added onto and slightly revised in order to be considered great scholarly work.

Sources:

In order to enhance the material, another book by Steger could be referenced and looked at for their ideas surrounding globalization titled, Justice Globalism Ideology, Crises, Policy. I found this source on the uOttawa library site and it can be accessed online. Another source that could be used in order to strengthen the article would be another book written by Steger titled, The quest for evolutionary socialism : Eduard Bernstein and social democracy. This book would offer views from another theorist, Bernstein, which would strengthen the focus on globalization and social democracy. This source was also found on the uOttawa library site.

Option 3
Article Title:

Madonna Studies

Article Evaluation:

The article has a strong opening paragraph of which identifies the main points and ideas, along with the controversy to be discussed. The author takes no side on the argument, but displays it appropriately for the reader to understand. The author then explains the theory in great detail, even referencing scholars and their thoughts on the Madonna Studies itself. The author has clearly done extensive research concerning the topic, as the article is cited thoroughly and appropriately. The content is presented in a great tone of which, again, takes no side but simply looks to present information concerning the studies in an intellectual and thought provoking way. The criticisms section of the article could be expanded upon in order to create a more thorough analysis. The quote from Madonna within the section also should have a citation directly at the end of it, showing it was said by Madonna. The references are clearly laid out at the end of the studies along with the book that the publisher cited from under Bibliography. Overall, this article has potential to be a really great source, yet should be expanded within the criticisms section and should include images of the singer and any other images of importance to make it stronger as well.

Sources:

In order to strengthen the article, sites that have more information and images of Madonna could be used. The first one is found on the New York times website and is called “60 Times Madonna Changed our Culture”. The article contains many photos and many contributors which would prove useful. The link is, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/16/arts/music/madonna-birthday-impact.html

Another source that would be used to strengthen the article is the book written by Georges-Claude Guilbert titled, Madonna as Postmodern Myth: How One Star's Self-construction rewrites Sex, Gender, Hollywood, and the American dream. This book was found on the uOttawa website and is available for download.

Option 4
Article Title:

Media transparency

Article Evaluation:

The article under discussion has a weak opening paragraph of which offers a definition of Media transparency, but lacks any source to back up this definition. This is an immediate red flag, as the reader has no reliable source to cross check the definition. The grammar is also weak and could be revised to create a stronger article; there are too many commas and run on sentences. The tone of the article is clearly biased as the author refers to media transparency as a large problem. This does not create an open and fair discussion on the topic. There is little information on the actual theory, and circulates around power and bribery. The article does include an abundance of additional reading for the audience to look at and read if they want to understand the theory in greater depth, and also provides references to cross check the information provided. These two inclusions alone do not make a great article though, and the article needs significant work to make it a strong wikipedia article.

Sources:

In order to improve the article, the tone needs to be adjusted. The article written by Changsoo Song and Jooho Lee titled “Citizens' Use of Social Media in Government, Perceived Transparency, and Trust in Government”, offers a positive spin on media transparency and can be used to help the article change its tone by adding other perspectives. This article was found on the uOttawa website and can be accessed through the citation; Song, C., & Lee, J. (2016). Citizens’ Use of Social Media in Government, Perceived Transparency, and Trust in Government. Public Performance & Management Review, 39(2), 430–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2015.1108798

Another source that could be used is the article written by Enrique Bonson titled “Local e-government 2.0: Social media and corporate transparency in municipalities”, which offers another view of media transparency in a positive light which could counteract the negative spin of the article. This article was also found on the uOttawa library website and can be accessed through the citation provided; Bonsón, E., Torres, L., Royo, S., & Flores, F. (2012). Local e-government 2.0: Social media and corporate transparency in municipalities. Government Information Quarterly, 29(2), 123–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2011.10.001

Option 5
Article Title:

Open and closed systems in social science

Article Evaluation:

The article under discussion provides information about open and closed systems in social science in great depth and offers the theorists of which have coined the terms and movements concerning the systems, yet does not have the appropriate citing in order to fully back these claims and the research provided. The article also cites “systems theory” but provides no context for the theory itself. The only citations provided are those for quotations, there are none for the research provided. The research itself is thorough and shows the author's extensive knowledge on open and closed systems, but offers their knowledge in a conversational way rather than a scholarly way of which creates a relaxed tone. This tone does not come across well when considering the topic to be of high scholarly importance. There are no other grammatical errors that take away from the article, but the tone should definitely be re-evaluated. The graph provided at the end of the article is helpful in understanding the different theorists discussed, and should be kept in future revisions. Overall, the author of the article needs to work on their tone and adapt it to be more scholarly, and needs to include proper citations for their work.

Sources:

In order to develop this article, there needs to be more information on systems theory to give a full background to the subjects addressed. A source that can be used to do this is titled, “Complexity Theory: An Overview with Potential Applications for the Social Sciences”, in which authors John Turner and Rose Baker look at systems theory and expand to understanding open and closed systems of the theory. This source was found on the uOttawa library and the citation is; Turner, J., & Baker, R. (2019). Complexity Theory: An Overview with Potential Applications for the Social Sciences. Systems (Basel), 7(1), 4–. https://doi.org/10.3390/systems7010004

Another source that could be used to strengthen the article would be the article titled, “Towards representing human behavior and decision making in Earth system models - an overview of techniques and approaches”, found on the Gale Academic Onefile (through the uOttawa library website). This article focuses on the human aspects of systems theory and would provide additional information to the article which itself focuses on human history and understanding of the world around them using open and closed systems. The citation for this source is; Donges, J. F., Kolb, J. J., Thonicke, K., & Heitzig, J. (2017). Towards representing human behavior and decision making in Earth system models - an overview of techniques and approaches. Earth System Dynamics, 8(4), 977. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A513993033/AONE?u=otta77973&sid=AONE&xid=8c04bdf4