Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Social Science, NYUAD/Foundations of Peace (Spring 2017)

This course surveys the social science literature on the determinants of peace, violence, internal and international armed conflict, and different forms of political violence.

Welcome to your Wikipedia project's course timeline. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project for your course. Be sure to check with your instructor to see if there are other pages you should be following as well.

This page breaks down writing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia.

Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Content Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the &quot;Get Help&quot; button on this page.

Week 1
Due April 12th before class.


 * Join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
 * Take the first two trainings, assigned below.
 * Read the following handouts:
 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia
 * Editing Wikipedia articles on Political science
 * When you finish the trainings, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate's Talk page.

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Due April 17th before class.


 * Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).
 * Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
 * Create a section in your sandbox titled &quot;Article evaluation&quot; where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
 * Re-read your selected article as it stands on Wikipedia. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
 * Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
 * Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * What do you plan to contribute to this article to make it better?
 * Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Helaine (Wiki Ed) (talk) 18:08, 16 May 2017 (UTC).

Week 2
Due April 19th before class.


 * On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
 * Take the &quot;Sandboxes and Mainspace&quot; training linked below.
 * In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
 * Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
 * Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.

Due April 22nd before class.

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.

'''Creating a new article? '''


 * Write an outline of that topic in the form of a standard Wikipedia article's &quot;lead section.&quot; Write it in your sandbox.
 * A &quot;lead&quot; section is not a traditional introduction. It should summarize, very briefly, what the rest of the article will say in detail. The first paragraph should include important, broad facts about the subject. A good example is Ada Lovelace. See Editing Wikipedia page 9 for more ideas.

'''Improving an existing article? '''


 * Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox.

'''Prepare for peer review '''


 * In class on 4/22 you will be peer-reviewing each others articles. Please take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; training before class on Wednesday. Make sure to have a complete draft ready for peer review!

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.


 * Select two classmates’ article that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign it to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmate's draft. Leave suggestions on the Talk page of the article, or sandbox, that your fellow student is working on. Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?

Week 3
Due April 26th before class.

You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!


 * Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
 * Take the &quot;Plagiarism&quot; training, linked below.
 * Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Content Expert if you have any questions.

Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.

Due May 1st before class.

Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the &quot;mainspace.&quot;

'''Editing an existing article? '''


 * NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
 * Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!
 * Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' or 'Edit source' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly.

'''Creating a new article? '''


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 13, and follow those steps to move your article from your Sandbox to Mainspace.
 * You can also review the Sandboxes and Mainspace online training.

Week 4
Due May 3rd before class.

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.

Week 5
Due May 8th before class.

It's the final week to develop your article.


 * Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
 * Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Content Expert at any time!
 * To review all the edits you made on your article visit the Articles tab on this course page, drop down the row of your article, and select &quot;view cumulative changes&quot;

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.