2019:Education/Engaging researchers to contribute to Wikipedia
 | This is an Accepted submission for the Education space at Wikimania 2019. |
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Title
Engaging researchers to contribute to Wikipedia
Session leader(s)
| Full Name* | Email address* | Wikimedia Username (if you have one) | Affiliation | Country | Role, website or any other details you'd like to share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olle Terenius | olle.terenius@isp.uu.se | Olle Terenius (UU) | Uppsala University | Sweden | User:Olle Terenius (UU) |
Session type
Each Space at Wikimania 2019 will have specific format requests. The program design prioritises submissions which are future-oriented and directly engage the audience. The format of this submission is a:
- Lecture - 25 min (20 min + 5 min for questions)
Description
At universities around the world, knowledge is continuously generated, but the vast majority is not reaching the public. There is no better way to reach the public with information when it is needed than Wikipedia because of its free access and preferred ranking by Google. However, as Wikipedia to a large extent is edited by people with less insight than those researchers active in their fields of research, the articles are commonly lacking correct and up-dated information. One of the reasons that researchers are not more active in editing articles in their fields is that researchers rarely read about their own topic on Wikipedia as they have access to better sources or know the field. Another reason is that there are few incentives to spend time on science outreach including editing Wikipedia. In this lecture, I will give examples of what have been successful ways to engage researchers and how we in Sweden are building a generation of researchers that also see Wikipedia as a means to disseminate their research.
Supporting work
Optional:
Relationship to the theme
This session will address the conference theme — Wikimedia, Free Knowledge and the Sustainable Development Goals — in the following manner: one future scenario is to engage thousands of researchers world-wide to contribute to wikipedia.
Session outcomes
At the end of the session, the following will have been achieved: insights on best practices when it comes to engaging researchers to contribute. we have tried and failed many ways, but succeeded with a few and these will be shared.
Relation to other Spaces
Requirements
The session will work best with these conditions:
- Room: a projector + screen is needed
- Audience:
No limit, no prior knowledge needed.
- Recording:
i'm fine with being recorded
Interest
If you would like to attend this session, please express your interest by signing ~~~~ below