Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/Queen Mary, University of London/Research Methods (Film) (Spring 2016)/Timeline

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Week 1: How to be a good (film) scholar

 * In class
 * Lecture: How to be a good (film) scholar: principles and practices
 * Overview of the course
 * Formation of groups on the basis of research interests
 * Introduction to how Wikipedia will be used in the course
 * Handout: Welcome_to_Wikipedia_brochure_EN.pdf (available in print or online from the Wikimedia Foundation)

Week 2: Wikipedia essentials

 * In class
 * Lecture: Wikipedia for beginners: Good faith collaboration and Neutral Point of View
 * Adoption of Wikipedia page for a particular film (conditions will apply)
 * Handouts: Choosing an article.pdf and Evaluating_Wikipedia_article_quality_2010-11-26_(web).pdf


 * Assignment (due end of week 2)
 * Groups to submit a pdf copy of the page in its current/pre-edited format, including earliest and most recent edit history
 * Assignment 1 (due week 3)
 * Prepare presentation to evaluate chosen Wikipedia page in relation to following categories: factual accuracy: dates, figures, assertions of fact; citations: provenance, reliability, objectivity; style: clarity, coherence, layout; précis of page history: overview of main changes/discussion

It is essential that you complete these activities by week 4: without them you will not have the training you need to complete the group assignment
 * Required activity outside class time (due week 4)
 * Start the online student orientation. During this training, you will create an account, make edits in a sandbox, and learn the basic rules of Wikipedia.
 * Create a user page, and sign up on the list of students on the course page.

Week 3: Paratextuality, hypertextuality, and the importance of the footnote

 * In class
 * Lecture: Paratextuality, hypertextuality, and the importance of the footnote
 * Handouts: WikipediaReferencing.pdf, Classroom_handout_-_Citing_sources_on_Wikipedia.pdf, Classroom_handout_-_Avoiding_plagiarism_on_Wikipedia.pdf and “Understanding Wikipedia’s copyright policy"
 * Workshop: Group presentations


 * Assignment 1 due: short group presentation of review of Wikipedia page [no formal weighting]


 * Activity outside class time(due end of week 4)
 * Complete the student orientation.
 * Make sure you have enrolled on this course page.
 * To practice editing and communicating on Wikipedia, introduce yourself to any Wikipedians helping your class (such as a Wikipedia Ambassador), and leave a message for a classmate on their user talk page.


 * Milestone:
 * All students have Wikipedia user accounts and are listed on the course page.

Week 4: Using E-resources
Lindsay Ure will introduce you to using e-resources relevant to film for your research, including COPAC; Film Index International; on-line databases; Metalib
 * In class
 * Lecture: How to use e-resources for research (Lindsay Ure, academic liaison librarian for film)
 * Workshop: Exploring e-resources, trial searches for scholarly material


 * Activities outside class time:
 * Meet in your groups to divide up the necessary work for revision and conduct individual research in preparation for editing of the Wikipedia page.
 * You will need to designate specific tasks to specific individuals: working together cohesively and efficiently as a group will allow you to produce the best quality edit.
 * Some of these tasks will include: researching appropriate and reliable secondary sources in libraries, using e-resources and browsing journal articles and books; pasting a bibliography of materials onto the Talk Page of your chosen wikipedia entry; skimming and notetaking of these scholarly materials; rewriting and writing new material for the Wikipedia page; copy-editing, proofreading and checking of markup. The last stage - copyediting and proofreading - is one of the most important. Don't forget to designate one or two people to this task, and to make sure that your group takes responsibility for this stage.


 * Wikipedia assignment recommendation
 * Develop your editing techniques by copying and pasting sections of your selected page into your sandbox, and adapt the entries there. Once you are ready, make sure your material is correctly proofread and marked up, and move it into an edit of your selected page.


 * Milestone
 * All students have started editing articles or drafts on Wikipedia.

Week 5: The Art of Editing

 * In class
 * Lecture: The art of editing, or how to make your writing say what you mean
 * Basics of editing, on- and offline
 * Workshop: presentation and discussion of editing plan/activities;
 * revisiting editing etiquette/Wikipedia ethics
 * discussion of using sandboxes
 * each group compiles a bibliography of relevant research and posts it to the talk page of the article you are working on.
 * distribution of tasks to complete the edit of the page
 * peer review of other groups' work


 * Handouts: UsingTalkPages.pdf, Welcome2WP_English_Flap_081810.pdf, Classroom_handout_-_moving_out_of_your_sandbox.pdf and Classroom_handout_-_How_to_get_help.pdf


 * Assignment tips:
 * continue working on your Wikipedia edit (due at the end of Week 6)
 * Peer review other groups' articles, giving feedback verbally or on other students' talk pages, or on the article talk pages. Remember to offer positive and constructive suggestions, and to follow Wikipedia's principles of good faith collaboration.


 * Milestone
 * All articles have been reviewed by others. All students have reviewed articles by their classmates.

Week 6: Due date: moving articles to the main space and completing your edit

 * Handouts: UploadingImagesHandout.pdf and Evaluating_Wikipedia_article_quality_2010-11-26_(web).pdf

Assignment 2 due (end of week 6)
 * You should now have received feedback from other groups. Use this to complete your Wikipedia edit, and to submit documentation of it in electronic and hard copy.


 * Complete and submit the feedback and evaluation sheet, and prepare for an in-class presentation about your Wikipedia editing experience in week 8.

Reading Week
You made it!


 * Milestone
 * Students have finished all their work on Wikipedia that will be considered for grading. You can turn to your individual research projects over Reading Week.
 * In week 8, we will discuss what you learned from the wikipedia assignment, including how you improved your research, editing and collaborating skills.