Workshop leads James Pearson, Charles West (Arts and Humanities).

Supported by Kate O’Neill , Steve McIndoe, Bev Jones (University Library) and Andy Tattersall (ScHARR)

Tues 26th April, 1-4pm (Online via Google Meet)

Abstract, workshop objectives

Wikipedia is one of the digital world’s most important assets, a key source for free and reliable information, and a vital tool in the fight against fake news. Anyone can edit it, but not everyone does! The more people get involved in Wikipedia, the better it gets for everyone.

In this ‘Wikithon’, we’re encouraging edits to:

Add links to open access research, to improve the quality of information available worldwide

Contribute to fixing pages identified as needing work

Improve diversity and inclusion on the resource

The Wikithon will be preceded by a free training session organised by James Pearson (FAH) for anyone who’s never edited before, or who’d like a refresher.

Timings for the workshop

1.00 Introduction to editing Wikipedia and the importance of open access research that underpins Wikipedia.

1.50 break

2.00 Edit-a-thon part 1

2.50 break

3.00 Edit-a-thon part 2

3.50 Finish and final questions/discussion

4.00 close

Before attending this workshop you will need to create a Wikipedia account

If you have good, previous experience of editing Wikipedia, there is no requirement to attend the first hour of the workshop.

The workshop is hosted on Google Meet and you will receive an invite to your calendar, please accept it to let us know you are attending.

Places are limited.

Useful reading about Wikipedia and academia

Amin Azzam et al., “Why Medical Schools Should Embrace Wikipedia: Final-Year Medical Student Contributions to Wikipedia Articles for Academic Credit at One School,” Academic Medicine 92, no. 2 (February 1, 2017): 194–200. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001381

Andy Tattersall et al., “Exploring open access coverage of Wikipedia-cited research across the White Rose Universities,” Insights, 2022, 35: 3, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1629/uksg.559

Misha Teplitskiy et al,., “Amplifying the Impact of Open Access: Wikipedia and the Diffusion of Science,” Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology 68, no. 9 (2017): 2116–2127. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23687

The World Health Organization and Wikimedia Foundation Expand Access to Trusted Information about COVID-19 on Wikipedia. WHO. https://www.who.int/news/item/22-10-2020-the-world-health-organization-and-wikimedia-foundation-expand-access-to-trusted-information-about-covid-19-on-wikipedia

Image CC BY SA 3.0 Wikipedia

Wikithon for academics, PGRs and professional staff