Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Yale/Issues in Medicine and Public Health (Fall, 2017)
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- Course name
- Issues in Medicine and Public Health
- Institution
- Yale
- Instructor
- Robert Bazell
- Wikipedia Expert
- Ian (Wiki Ed)
- Subject
- Public Health and the Media
- Course dates
- 2017-08-31 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-27 23:59:59 UTC
- Approximate number of student editors
- 12
Analysis of issues in public health and medicine that get extensive media attention and provoke policy debates. Topics include vaccination, the value of cancer screening and genetic testing, determinants of a healthy lifestyle, the U.S. role in global health, and the cost of health care
Timeline
Week 1
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 10 October 2017 | Thursday, 12 October 2017
- Introduction to the Wikipedia project
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 Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page.
- Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
- Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link your instructor sent you. Please pick an anonymous gender neutral username. If you created an identifiable one before just leave it and and re-enroll with a new name. No one will see the old one
- 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've finished the trainings, review the following handouts:
- At the end of this assignment, practice by introducing yourself to a classmate on that classmate’s Talk page.
- Milestones
This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.
Week 2
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 17 October 2017
- Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia
It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.
- Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
- Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings.
- Review the the first part of the Wikipedia article about public healthassigned earlier in the semester Read the article about sugar substitutes . Also read the article about Vietnamese Tuberculosis The first is a fully developed article. The second is a subsection of a larger topic and could be the starting point for a new article since there is a lot of controversy about the health effects of artificial sweetners. Potential health issues are referenced in the article, but someone might be concerned enough to want a complete article about that. The third is something that might seem to be a minor topic in global health or history, but could be important to some people. It is not developed at all. Search through Wikipedia for severalthat we have covered or plan to cover in this course and pick some articles. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these):
- Is everything in the articles relevant to the topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
- Are articles 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?
- Answer the questions above in your newly created sandbox page before the beginning of class on October 17 in about 300 words posted before the beginning of class on October 17
- Discussion
- What's a content gap?
Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.
- Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." 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 "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
- Include these thoughts in the post in your sandbox page described above
Week 3
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 24 October 2017 | Thursday, 26 October 2017
- Assignment - Choose your topic / Find your sources
It's time to choose an article and assign it to yourself. As I said in class, it is probably best for you to edit an existing article, especially a "stub" or an article rated "start-class" on the talk page. But if you feel you want to write a new article, go for it. Wikipedia posts a list of health stubs and medicine stubs This article on cancer prevention is a good example of an entry rated as "start class" on a subject we will cover in class
- Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
- Review Wikipedia's rules for topics related to medicine, human health, and psychology.
- Research 2 possible topics that you want to improve on Wikipedia for this assignment. You must select topics directly related what we have or may plan to discuss in class. It is OK if more than one student works on the same Wikipedia page for the project. I can see who contributes wha. If you are unsure of the topic you want please email me .
- For each topic, 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.
- 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.
- Once you have an idea formalized for both topics, select one that you feel you can make the most impact on to move forward with. Assign it to yourself on the Students tab of this course page or on the Home tab under the "My Articles" section.
- THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT. YOU WILL BE CHOOSING THE ARTICLE YOU WILL BE WORKING ON FOR REMAINDER OF THE SEMESTER
- Assignment - Copyedit Your Artilce
To practice your editing skills, read through your article again and copyedit on your sandbox page. This will include making minor grammatical changes, but you don't need to add new information to the article yet.
While you copy edit, continue making notes in your sandbox about what sections you want to improve.
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about sources and plagiarism
- 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?
Week 4
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 31 October 2017 | Thursday, 2 November 2017
- Assignment - Draft your article
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 "lead section." Write it in your sandbox.
- A "lead" 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
- In class - Discussion
- Thinking about Wikipedia
- What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
- 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?
- Milestones
Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.
Week 5
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 7 November 2017 | Thursday, 9 November 2017
- Assignment - Complete first draft
- Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Your draft should be housed in your sandbox.
- By the end of this week your draft should be ready for peer-review.
- If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.
- Assignment - Peer review and copy edit
- First, take the "Peer Review" 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. Then in the "My Articles" section of the Home tab, assign them to yourself to review.
- Peer review your classmates' drafts. Leave suggestions on 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?
- Milestones
Every student has finished reviewing their assigned articles, making sure that every article has been reviewed.
Week 6
- Course meetings
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- Tuesday, 14 November 2017 | Thursday, 16 November 2017
- Assignment - Respond to your peer review
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.
- Return to your draft or article and think about the suggestions. Decide which ones to start implementing. Reach out to your instructor or your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions.
Week 7
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 28 November 2017 | Thursday, 30 November 2017
- Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia
Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace."
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' 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 [[../../../training/students/sandboxes|Sandboxes and Mainspace]] online training.
- Assignment - Continue improving your article
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.
- Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take Contributing Images and Media Files training before you upload an image.
- Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!
Week 8
- Course meetings
-
- Tuesday, 5 December 2017 | Thursday, 7 December 2017
- Assignment - Final article
Due midnight on December 14th.
It's the final week to develop your article while still in class. It is due at the end of the reading period
- 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 Wikipedia Expert at any time!
- Milestones
Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading. Although everyone is encouraged to move their articles to the main space. Grades will be based only on he article that is in the sandbox by midnight of this day