User:Kjunue6/sandbox

My Mid-Term Quiz for LIBY 1210-09 Winter 2017

My Research Topic is:Public opinion of Cults

Key words related to my Research Topic are: cults, jonestown massacre, religion, suicide, heavens gate,

Part 1:

Examine Wikipedia articles that are directly related to your Research Topic and select a substantive article to evaluate. This could be an article about an idea (e.g., I might choose the one about Trance) or a person (if I were researching Reggae music, I might pick Bob Marley). Answer the following questions:

I chose to read and evaluate the article titled: (for extra credit, link the name of the article to the article in Wikipedia.) Jonestown

1. Is there a warning banner at the top of the article? Yes or No

If there is a warning banner, copy and paste the warning banner here."this article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed."

Write an brief explanation of the reason the issues mentioned in the warning banner are important. For example, if the issue is “needs additional citations for verification,” why does that matter? The article "Medieval Latin" needs additional citations for verification, An article is considered reliable if it had enough reliable citations

Please note: If the article you are evaluating does not have a warning banner, choose a warning banner from a different article and explain the warning that is in that banner.

2. Is the lead section of the article easy to understand? Does it summarize the key points of the article? Yes, it summarizes one of the most famous mass suicides of history.

3. Is the structure of the article clear? “Are there several headings and subheadings, images and diagrams at appropriate places, and appendices and foonotes at the end?”Yes, there are at least 7 headings with at least 3 subheadings in each

4. Are “the various aspects of the topic balanced well”? That is does it seem to provide a comprehensive overview of the topic? Yes, it provides information about the establishment of Jonestown, the events leading to the mass suicide, and the aftermath

5. Does the article provide a “neutral point of view”? Does it read like an encyclopedia article instead of a persuasive essay? Yes, its neutral

6. Are the references and footnotes citing reliable sources? Do they point to scholarly and trustworthy information? Beware of references to blogs; look for references to books, scholarly journal articles, government sources, etc. Yes, the references are all books

7. Look for these signs of bad quality and comment on their presence or absence from the article you are evaluating:

a. is the lead section well-written, in clear, correct English? yes

b. are there “unsourced opinions” and/or “value statements which are not neutral”? no

c. does the article refer “to ‘some,’ ‘many,’ or other unnamed groups of people,” instead of specific organizations or authors or facts? no

d. does the article seem to omit aspects of the topic? no

e. are some sections overly long compared to other sections of similar importance to the topic? yes, the section titles "Jonestown before mass migration" is unnecessarily long

f. does the article lack sufficient references or footnotes? It has quite a bit of footnotes, but with only 4 references, its lacking

g. Look at the “View History” for the article. As you read the conversation there, do you see hostile dialogue or other evidence of lack of respectful treatment among the editors? No

Part 2:

Evaluate the Wikipedia article you selected using the CARDIO method. Write your answers following each word below:

Currency (When was the last update of this article? hint: check the View History) January 23, 2017

Authority (What evidence do you find that the author(s) of this article have the appropriate credentials to write on this topic?) Some authors have been editing wikipedia articles for more than 10 years, some authors work at bookstores and edit reference texts,

Relevance (to your research topic) the Peoples Temple group is one of the most infamous cults, due to the People's Temple Agricultural Project, or Jonestown

Depth: The article is very easy to understand, the editors use language that a middle schooler could understand. They also have reliable sources; this article is geared toward general adults

Information Format (I hope this one will be easy for you.) Wikipedia post

Object (what is the purpose for creating this article?) To inform people about one of the largest mass suicides in history and how it impacted society