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INFO LIT: Wikipedia

Look at the article quality

  • Does the writing read well? Is the topic clearly explained? 
  • Are there citations, references, or outside links? Are there citations to print sources or credible online sources? Are there footnotes within the text?

Look at the Page Edit History

Click on the "history" tab at the top of the article to see a record of all changes made to the article

  • Was the article recently created? When was the last time it was edited? Newer articles may still need some work.
  • How many people contributed to the article? Or was it just one or two editors?
  • Is there evidence of ongoing edit wars or arguments over content? This often looks like continual reversals of content made by two or more people.
  • Is there evidence of vandalism. This is often denoted when a change is marked with an edit summary such as "revert" or "rvv vandalism." 

Check the article's Discussion tab, if one exists

Click on the "discussion" tab at the top of the article

  • Are there discussions about the validity of the article? Are questions raised about the article?
  • Does the article topic appear to be controversial or otherwise under debate? 

Check the templates at the top of the article

  • Is the article tagged with a common "clean-up" template?
  • Does the article rely too heavily on primary sources or first-hand accounts? Or does it just not cite enough sources?