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Histeridae

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This peer review discussion has been closed.
We have listed this article for peer review because we'd like feedback on grammar mistakes, incorrect information, or anything that can be worked on to better this page. We welcome any type of suggestions, comments, or contributions. This page has been written as a group project for a Forensic Entomology class at Texas A&M University. [1]

Thanks, Klfoster (talk) 22:00, 25 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Comments from Dr pda:

  • The first thing I noticed about the article was that, although it has a list of references at the end, the article has no inline citations. This is against Wikipedia policy (see WP:VERIFY and WP:CITE for more information), and makes it very difficult for anyone to check or find more information on a particular fact, as they cannot tell which particular reference was used. This is a major issue which needs to be fixed.
  • On the topic of references, while many different citation styles are permitted (including using templates such as {{cite journal}} or {{Citation}}), you may like to consider following the tips at Wikipedia:CITE#Links and ID numbers to make the title of the reference link to the web page, rather than having a bare URL. For example instead of
you would have
  • Myers, P., R. Espinosa, and C. S. Parr. "Family Histeridae." Animal Diversity Web. 1998. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Accessed 22 March 2009
  • Also on the topic of references, you need to make sure that all sources used satisfy the guidelines at Wikipedia:Reliable sources. Basically references need to be published by reputable publishers with a reputation for fact checking, so articles in peer-reviewed journals, books published by major publishing houses etc. One has to be careful with websites. http://bugguide.net isn't a reliable source because, as its disclaimer says, the content is contributed mostly be amateur naturalists, who are solely responsible for the content. The particular bugguide entry which you cite, http://bugguide.net/node/view/6577, lists some print sources which you may be able to use instead (however notice it also cites Wikipedia as a source!)
  • The first section of the article (the "lead") should provide a standalone summary of the article, according to WP:LEAD, so that if someone stops reading after the lead, they have got all the main points of the article. In this case I don't think this has been achieved. A corollary of this function of the lead is that Wikipedia articles (and encyclopedia articles in general) do not require a "Conclusion" section, as it would just be repeating the lead.
  • There are some places where the language is non-encyclopedic in tone. For example Thus, when an investigator happens upon a scene it is wise for them to check for the existence of Hister Beetles and to have some knowledge about them. This is giving advice, rather than presenting facts. The Histerids will also eat adult insects, so if you are trying to cage them they cannot be kept with other bugs. This addresses the reader directly ("you").
  • Wikipedia uses "sentence case" for its capitalisation of article names and section headings, which means that, with the exception of proper nouns, the only word which is capitalised is the first. Thus the section heading Origin of Name should be Origin of name. (This actually sounds a bit stilted, maybe just Name or Etymology would be better).
  • One-sentence paragraphs (like this one) are discouraged.
  • The "Characteristics" section seems to mostly consist of anatomy and feeding habits. Is there any particular reason his information is not in those sections?
  • The "Anatomy" section is reasonably heavy on jargon, and would probably benefit from a diagram indicating the different parts of the beetle. Also "elytra" is plural—you are treating it as singular. I am also slightly confusied by the fact that the first sentence indicates the members of the family are diverse, yet the next paragraph gives a very specific description of "the Hister beetle", which I understood to be a synonym for all members of the family.
  • The "Genus and species" section should give some idea of why these particular genera and species are listed out of the 330 genera and 3900 species. Also note that genus is singular, the plural is genera. This could possibly be moved further down the article, as there is the danger the reader will not scroll past this long list, and will thus miss the section on forensic entomology! The list might be more suitably presented as a table (see Help:Table for the syntax), e.g.
Genus Species Notes
Atholus Atholus rothkirchi note here
Aeletes Aeletes angustisternus
Aeletes angustus Maybe even put an image here
Aeletes basalis
  • Some consistency in the name used for the beetles throughout the article would be helpful. For example in the sentences The Clown beetle will hide under the dead body in the soil during the day and come out at night to feed. For this reason it is important to examine a dead body at different times of the day. When the Hister beetle is collected from a body they must be isolated during examination because they are predacious beetles and eat anything in their way., "clown beetle" is used in the first sentence, but "Hister beetle" in the third. This gives the impression that two different types of beetles are being discussed here.
  • The "Current research" section does not actually describe any current research!
  • The article needs to be read through to check for redundancies. Since a group of you have been writing the article it looks like different people have added the same information. For example in the "Habitat" section
Histeridae found in varying environments have varying characteristics. The flat Hister beetles are usually found in tree bark, while the cylindrical beetles are not. This diverse group of beetles has characteristics that vary from species to species. For example, certain species of Hister beetles live under bark. These species have flattened bodies.

That's probably enough from me for the moment. I hope you find these comments useful. Dr pda (talk) 02:05, 30 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Quick comment: A model article is useful for ideas and examples to follow. Chrysiridia rhipheus is an insect WP:FA and may be a useful model article Ruhrfisch ><>°° 16:42, 30 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

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