User:Stringam/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: Aboriginal Whaling (Aboriginal whaling)
• Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
  • I have chosen this article because I was interested in reading about how a Wikipedia article describes subsistence whaling practices, given the contentious and controversial nature of the topic, as well as that it is an Indigenous issue. I am part of a community that practices subsistence whaling and was interested in analyzing the content and tone of this article.

Lead

Guiding questions

Overall, this Lead does include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the topic (however, the title uses the term "Aboriginal" instead of Indigenous. Indigenous would be the best term to use as it universally understood as referring to the original inhabitants of an area. The lead includes a brief sentence that describes that the article is about communities that continue to subsistence hunt today and its controversy, but does not mention International Regulations, which is a major topic of the article. The lead does include information not in the article, as it includes one sentence about how some communities have shifted to whale watching where it is no longer permissible to hunt. The lead is concise, but would benefit from an added sentence.

• 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?

Content

Guiding questions

The article's content is relevant to the topic of Indigenous whaling, but the content is not up-to-date or complete. This article misses important information about NGOs and their role in subsistence whaling controversies. In addition, the "Canada" subheading of the article does includes only two sentences and does not give as much detail about the Canadian whale hunts as it does for Alaskan whale hunts. The subheading "issues that threaten aboriginal whaling rights" misses relevant info how increased Arctic shipping will drastically impact endemic cetacean populations, and by extension, subsistence whaling in the region. The entirety of the article fails to mention that subsistence hunts are used to feed communities and contributes to food security, as rural communities lack access to affordable store-bought foods. Lastly, this article does deal with Wikipedia equity gaps and it addresses an Indigenous issue, a group of people who are historically underrepresented.

• 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?
• Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

The article is neutral and there are no claims that are heavily biased towards a particular position. The article itself contains a significant amount of regulations on Alaska Native and Makah hunts, but has very little information about Inuit whale hunts or that or other Indigenous groups. This article does not attempt to sway the view of the reader in a particular direction.

• 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?

Sources and References

Guiding questions

All the facts in the article are backed by a reliable secondary source of information, except for the first sentence in the "issues that threaten aboriginal whaling rights" section where a citation is needed. The sources are not thorough; they miss sources that can provide information on pre-colonial whaling, as well as some resources (such as the North Slope Borough Wildlife Management and Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission) that give important information on subsistence hunts. The sources are relatively current, but are not written from a variety of perspectives (i.e) there are no sources written by Indigenous peoples in relation to their community subsistence hunts. The links I clicked on worked.

• 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?
• Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
• Check a few links. Do they work?

Organization

Guiding questions

The article is written in a way that is clear, concise, and easy to read. There are no grammatical/spelling errors and is well-organized into separate topics.

• 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?

Images and Media

Guiding questions

The images allow readers to see what subsistence hunts look like in the communities that are discussed in the article. The second image is poorly captioned, simply stating that a map of Alaskan whaling communities is the "Beluga Harvest 2007" which is not an accurate descriptor. All of the images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations, but are not laid out in a visually appealing way (all on right side of page, small image size, map illegible).

• 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?

Checking the talk page

Guiding questions

On the talk page, there is a discussion of what specifically "aboriginal whaling" is and what groups fall under that definition. There is a point of contention as to whether one of the groups described in the article should actually fall under the category of aboriginal. The article was once a part of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. There is no rating.

• 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?

Overall impressions

Guiding questions

Overall, the article has multiple issues, needs to be updated, and has close paraphrasing. It also needs completion.

• 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?

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: Talk:Aboriginal whaling#Comments on the Content