Training modules/dashboard/slides/12701-evaluate-an-item/en

Ways to evaluate the quality of an item

Adding and evaluating data on Wikidata can feel like an art, but in many ways Wikidata items are a lot easier to evaluate than Wikipedia articles. There are six easy questions to ask to evaluate the quality of a Wikidata item.

  1. Is this statement accurate? (Follow this link if you need a refresher on what a statement is)
  2. Does this statement contain at least one reference? Although every statement should have a references, Wikidata allows editors to add statements without references.
  3. Use a data model to see if the item is described properly. A data model describes an item with an agreed upon set of properties (example: any country you describe is a country, has a capital, has a population, is located on a continent or region). Remember: some items can be part of multiple data models.
  4. Does this item include all of the properties it should? Data models can change or be out of date. As an editor, you can determine properties that may be missing from an item.
  5. Should this statement contain qualifiers or ranks? Is the value up to date? (Qualifier and Rank refresher)
  6. Is the item represented across languages? Make sure the item has labels, descriptions, aliases, and site links for multiple languages.