Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/University of North Carolina Wilmington/History and Methods of Infectious Diseases Research (Spring 2017)

This course page is where you'll find all the information you need to complete the Wikipedia project this term. Make sure to take all the assigned training modules.

Week 1
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.

To get started, please review the following handouts:


 * Editing Wikipedia pages 1–5
 * Evaluating Wikipedia


 * Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you.
 * It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade.
 * 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.

Week 2
Now that you're thinking about what makes a &quot;good&quot; Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.


 * Wikipedians often talk about &quot;content gaps.&quot; What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
 * What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
 * Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
 * What does it mean to be &quot;unbiased&quot; on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of &quot;bias&quot;?

To start, you first need to pick the article you want to work on for the rest of the term.


 * Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
 * Take a look at the article for Pathogenic Bacteria and select a species from the table. This will be the species that you work on for the rest of the Wikipedia project.
 * When you find the one you want to work on, go to the Students tab on this course page and assign it to yourself. Make sure that no other students have assigned themselves the same topic.

Once you've picked your topic, you will critically evaluate the content there.


 * Complete the &quot;Evaluating Articles and Sources&quot; training (linked below).
 * For your article, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
 * Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference?
 * 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?
 * Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Check a few citations. Do the links work? Is there any close paraphrasing or plagiarism in the article?
 * Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
 * Create a section in your sandbox space titled &quot;Article Critique&quot; and leave your notes there. (To create a new section, click &quot;edit&quot; and add ===Article Critique=== then click &quot;save&quot;.)
 * Choose at least 1 questions relevant to your article and leave your notes for that question on the article's talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Samantha (Wiki Ed) (talk) 18:39, 22 June 2017 (UTC).

Week 3

 * Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
 * What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
 * What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
 * What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?


 * In your sandbox, create a new section called &quot;Article draft&quot; and 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.
 * 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.

Week 4
Presentations 1-3

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.

Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to write the body of the article.

Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 5
Presentations 4-6

Week 7
Presentations 7-9

Week 8
Presentations 10-12

Assignment: now that we are done with our first round of presentations, you'll be asked to peer review your classmates Wikipedia drafts. Think about their oral presentations and the notes you took and use these during your peer review.


 * First, take the &quot;Peer Review&quot; online training.
 * Select TWO classmates’ articles that you will peer review and copyedit. On the Articles tab, find the articles that you want to review, and then assign them to yourself in the Review column.
 * Peer review your classmate's drafts. Leave your suggestions on the Talk pages of the sandboxes that your fellow students are working on.
 * As you review, make spelling, grammar, and other adjustments. Pay attention to the tone of the article. Is it encyclopedic?
 * Other editors may be reviewing your work, so look for their comments! Be sure to acknowledge feedback from other Wikipedians.
 * Your instructor may also leave notes for review!

Week 9
Spring Break

Week 10
Continued from Week 8

Week 11
Presentations 1-3

Everyone should have had their peer review notes left by Monday night.

This week, you should take some time to respond to the notes left to you by your peers and your instructor.

It's time to work with that feedback to improve your article!


 * Read Editing Wikipedia pages 12 and 14.
 * 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.

Week 12
Presentations 4-6

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.
 * When you're ready to move content, make sure you are in the &quot;edit&quot; or &quot;edit source&quot; view (which ever you prefer) both when you COPY and when you PASTE.
 * Make sure you copy your edits into the article at the appropriate section header. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary each time. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving!

'''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 13
Presentations 7-9


 * What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of &quot;neutrality&quot;?
 * What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
 * On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? Can you think of any problems that might create?
 * If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? What about 100 years from now?

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique. Don't forget to format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards.


 * 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 14
Presentations 10-12


 * Prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience.
 * 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!

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

Week 15
2-4 minute summary of you contribution to Wikipedia


 * Present about your Wikipedia editing experience.
 * Consider the following questions as you reflect on your Wikipedia assignment:


 * Critiquing articles: What did you learn about Wikipedia during the article evaluation? How did you approach critiquing the article you selected for this assignment? How did you decide what to add to your chosen article?
 * Summarizing your contributions: include a summary of your edits and why you felt they were a valuable addition to the article. How does your article compare to earlier versions?
 * Peer Review: If your class did peer review, include information about the peer review process. What did you contribute in your review of your peers article? What did your peers recommend you change on your article?
 * Feedback: Did you receive feedback from other Wikipedia editors, and if so, how did you respond to and handle that feedback?
 * Wikipedia generally: What did you learn from contributing to Wikipedia? How does a Wikipedia assignment compare to other assignments you've done in the past? How can Wikipedia be used to improve public understanding of our field/your topic? Why is this important?