Help:Quality
This article is part of the WikiNorthia Style manual and is based on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style.
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[edit] Quality Content
WikiNorthia is a site trusted by users and therefore the quality of the content must be consistently good. The content should be accurate and verifiable. Copyrighted material should not be misused and other people’s work should not be reproduced or plagiarised.
WikiNorthia will be accessed by people from all over the world. It is important to remember that while the content and focus is local, articles should be written with an awareness that many who read them will have little or no local knowledge.
Local events can include reference to the wider context. Where articles deal with large events from a local perspective it may be helpful to provide links to reliable items dealing with the event from a broader perspective.
For instance if an article dealt with local celebrations for Federation in 1901 it might also include a link to a reputable site giving a wider description of Federation in Australia.
[edit] Perfect Article
Based on Wikipedia The perfect article.
A perfect WikiNorthia article...
- fills a gap; search for existing or related articles on the topic first.
- has a meaningful title that concisely describes the content.
- starts with a clear description of the subject; the first paragraph should introduce and explain the subject and its significance clearly and accurately, without going into excessive detail.
- is understandable; it is clearly expressed for both experts and non-experts in appropriate detail, and thoroughly explores and explains the subject.
- is nearly self-contained; it includes essential information and terminology, and is comprehensible by itself, without requiring significant reading of other articles.
- acknowledges and explores all aspects of the subject; i.e., it covers every encyclopedic angle of the subject.
- is completely neutral and unbiased; it has a neutral point of view, presenting competing views on controversies logically and fairly. The most factual and accepted views are emphasized, and minority views are given a lower priority; sufficient information and references are provided so that readers can learn more about particular views.
- is of an appropriate length; it is long enough to provide sufficient information, depth, and analysis on its subject, without including unnecessary detail or information that would be more suitable in related articles, or sister projects.
- reflects expert knowledge; it is grounded in fact and on sound scholarly and logical principles.
- is precise and explicit; it is free of vague generalities and half-truths that may arise from an imperfect grasp of the subject.
- is well-documented; all facts are cited from reputable sources, preferably sources that are accessible and up-to-date.
- is clear; it is written to avoid ambiguity and misunderstanding, using logical structure, and plain, clear prose; it is free of redundant language.
- is engaging; the language is descriptive and has an interesting, encyclopedic tone.
- follows standard writing conventions of modern English, including correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.
- avoids over long paragraphs; remember people are reading this online. Help them by presenting an article in paragraphs that rarely exceed 6 lines.
- is objective; be objective and not subjective.
- common sense; apply liberally to any content decisions you make.
An example of quite a good article on a controversial person from Wikipedia is: Floyd Landis. It includes good footnotes and presents information from both sides of a controversial argument.
[edit] Length
The length of an article is often dictated by the event etc. being described. However contributors should avoid excessive length. For instance if an account of a State Government decision relevant to the local area is included in an article it may not be necessary to reproduce or paraphrase the entire parliamentary debate. The Hansard reference could be footnoted and the debate briefly described and the decision included. This will be a matter of judgement, but contributors need to think about how much detail is required to adequately represent the event etc. being described.
Sometimes a large amount of information is available and relevant. Where an article is likely to exceed 4 pages the contributors should consider breaking the information into several self contained but linked articles describing different aspects of an event, history or issue etc.
[edit] Neutrality / Bias
It is important for the integrity of WikiNorthia that information is free of bias and is approached from a neutral point of view, concentrating on verifiable facts from legitimate sources. Conclusions can only be drawn where the facts support such a conclusion.
This is particularly important with accounts of issues that have been controversial within the local or wider community.
The aim of each article is to reliably inform users of WikiNorthia. It is not a place to push personal opinions or beliefs.
[edit] Spelling
WikiNorthia uses accepted Australian / English spelling. If you are unsure of a word, check it in the Macquarie Dictionary. When editing an article you may choose to do so using the Mozilla Firefox browser which will underline incorrect spelling in red. But it uses American spellings, so use your own judgement when it identifies a mispelt word. For example it will highlight recognise as misspelt because the American spelling ends in ize
[edit] Reliable and verifiable content
Any information you include in an article will have come from somewhere. It might be a date, a description of an event etc. The source of your material needs to be acknowledged. The source might be a newspaper report, another publication, a government document, an interview with an eyewitness etc.
Some articles may rely on personal observation - if you are writing about a contemporary building for instance. Your description of the building does not need to be referenced, if you quote somebody else’s description it should be referenced.
In general the articles should be based on verifiable fact rather than opinion. Where there are conflicting reports of the same event, they should be represented to the extent that the evidence supports either view. For instance different sources might describe an event as occurring in different locations. The author should present the evidence for both conclusions where the evidence is sufficient.
If an article does not offer hard evidence then any speculative opinion should be based on reasonable assessment from the available facts. If there is no supporting evidence or facts, then there would be no expressed or guessed opinion.
[edit] Personal Reminiscence
Personal stories are a great source of local history. Resident’s memories enrich any account of particular events or places. It is important to clearly identify personal reminiscence. If the personal reminiscence is from a third party it is important, and courteous, to gain permission to use such reminiscences.
For instance if you are writing about a particular event using a range of sources, if one of those sources is the reminiscence of a resident who observed it this can be footnoted and directly quoted ie Mr T Citizen local resident 1951-2007 or included in the Sources list if it is used generally. [When quoting private citizens, never include their full personal address]
If the entire article is a person’s (or several persons) reminiscences then this should be clearly explained in the opening paragraph. For instance “This article is based on an interview with Tom Citizen and Gladys Citizen who were residents of Northcote during the Great Depression. These are personal reminiscences.”
As far as possible facts should also be verified as memory can sometimes get facts wrong.
For instance ‘Tom’ might recall a particular event as occurring on a specific date or in a specific place. If research indicates that this may be incorrect then that should be included in the text. So if Tom said the date was 21 September 1933 but a newspaper report states otherwise, a reference could be added.
[edit] References
References should be used when a specific piece of information from another source is directly quoted or paraphrased. Immediately following the quotation or paraphrased text in the body of the article identify the source by including the author's surname and relevant page number in brackets. Full details of the publication would also be included in the sources area at the bottom of the article.
An example of a reference within the body of the text is Mr Smith played truant from school often when he was young (Smith p 27) The full details of the publication would then be included in the sources list, as per Example of Citations hereunder.
[edit] Sources
Articles should contain a list of sources that were used to verify the content. This list would include details of sources that have been directly quoted as well as sources used as background for the article.
Items should be expressed as per Example of Citations with author (surname first), title, publisher, place and date of publication.
If journal articles are used the citation should include the author, the title of the article, followed by the name of the journal, the volume, number (if applicable), date and page range.
If the source is a website it should include the date of retrieval. Remember, ‘information’ is not reliable merely by its presence online. Ensure cited websites are reliable.
[edit] Examples of citations
Note these items are used for example only, some are fictional publications.
Abruzzi, Duke of (Luigi Amedeo di Savoia).. On the Polar Star in the Arctic sea. 2 vols. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1903.
Amundsen, R. The South Pole: an account of the Norwegian Antarctic expedition in the ‘Fram’, 1910– 1912. London: John Murray, 1912.
Ansoff, I.. Corporate strategy. London: Penguin Books, 1987.
Arctowski, H. The Antarctic voyage of the Belgica during the years 1897, 1898, and 1899. Geographical Journal 18(4),1901: pp 353–394.
Doe, John The Meaning of meaning, The Online News, 10 October 2007. Retrieved on 13 October 2007. [The citation template will allow you to enter the url for the item cited, so the title links to the site]
Smith, John My Life, Melbourne, Smith publications, 1899
[edit] Using the internet for research
To assess the reliability of information accessed via the internet ask yourself some questions.
- What is the site’s domain? Is it a .gov .edu .com .org .net? The .gov and .edu domains are more likely to be reliable but remember that government websites will reflect the views and the aims of the incumbent government and may contain some bias.
- Is there an About Us or equivalent link on the site? If not, do not use the site, if there is does it tell you enough about the site to trust it?
- Are there contact details on the site?
- Are items on the site dated? Is that date recent? Does the site indicate when it was updated?
- Is the content really opinion masquerading as fact?
- Can you verify the information from another source?
- Is there an author attributed? If so Google them and see if you can find anything more about them.
- Do you recognise the organisation running the site? For instance you can judge the reliability of The Age; or the UN; or the BBC, but what about the ASQIR, or the Citizens for Truth League?
- Does the information read well? Is it well organised? Does it contain references? Can you verify any of the material in the site?
- What is the purpose of the site?
- Does the site have links to external sites? Are those links still active? If not it indicates the site is not well maintained. If the links are active do the sites linked to appear to be reliable and relevant? Does the site try and direct you to a range of commercial sites? If so, is the purpose legitimate?
- What degree of commercialism is evident on the site? A commercial site may well have good quality, reliable information on it, but the primary purpose may not be the provision of reliable information, but rather information that sells a product.
- As with any research try and verify things from several sources particularly if you are not completely confident of some sources.
- WikiNothia aims to be a trusted information site and as such it is the responsibility of every contributor to ensure, to as great an extent as possible, that good quality resources are used. A WikiNorthia contributor will ensure that the good is used, the bad and the ugly is ignored, and everything is verified.
