As one of the top-most visited websites globally, Wikipedia plays a key role in the general diffusion of scientific and technical knowledge to the public. We invite you to join the Challenge and make the most of Wikipedia, and other Wikimedia platforms, as a tool for scholarly communication and enhanced research visibility.
By signing up to the Challenge you will contribute, supported by our Wikimedian in Residence, to improving the representation of your research topics on Wikipedia and Wikidata.
The Challenge is open to researchers and research students affiliated with any Coventry University Research Centres and no previous experience is required, but you will need to use a laptop or desktop computer – tablets and phones will not be suitable.
Digital badges will be issued to evidence the achievement of participants.
You can join the challenge by addressing any of the following issues in relation to your field of area of research:
- How is your area of research represented on the English-language Wikipedia?
- Is there a Wikipedia article on the topic you research?
- Should there be, according to Wikipedia’s notability policy?
- If a needed article is missing, we can help you to create one, at one of our training events.
- Do Wikipedia articles relevant to your field draw on high quality and current scientific literature?
- One of the key “pillars” of Wikipedia is verifiability – every statement should be cited to an independent, reliable source, such as academic papers or books. If there is already content about your area of interest in Wikipedia, but that content is not cited, or is cited to poor or out of date sources, you can add sources.
- You may also use this as an opportunity to help your students understand the rules of academic citations by practising in a real-life context.
- Is Wikipedia’s coverage inclusive in terms of gender and non-Wester-centric perspective?
- As part of our efforts to decolonise the curriculum, and at the same time to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of under-represented minorities and cultures, we can work with you to hold (in-person or virtual) Wikipedia editing events, where students, staff and Wikipedia volunteers collaborate to work on a chosen topic, using source material suggested by subject experts (that’s you!).
- Are our researchers and co-authors included on Wikidata?
- While you should not edit Wikipedia about yourself, or to promote your publications, you can list your and your colleagues/ co-editors published work in Wikidata, the linked-, open-data repository that underpins Wikipedias in over 200 languages (as well as being available for anyone to reuse).
Available support
As part of the Challenge, two separate training sessions (of three hours each) will be offered to introduce participants to the key principles underpinning Wikimedia and provide your with and an opportunity to make your first edits in a supported environment.
Please fill out the registration form (by the 8th of Jan 2021) to sign up or otherwise get in touch with our Wikimedian in Residence (a.mabbett@coventry.ac.uk) in you have any questions.