Well, that is indeed nice to hear.
On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 8:02 AM, <gwern0(a)gmail.com> wrote:
"Improving Wikipedia: educational opportunity and
professional
responsibility."
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19269059
Trends Ecol Evol. 2009 Mar 5
Callis KL, Christ LR, Resasco J, Armitage DW, Ash JD, Caughlin TT,
Clemmensen SF, Copeland SM, Fullman TJ, Lynch RL, Olson C, Pruner RA,
Vieira-Neto EH, West-Singh R, Bruna EM; Graduate Seminar in Plant-Animal
Interactions, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of
Florida
'As part of a graduate seminar on plant–animal interactions, we set out to
assess the quality and content of Wikipedia entries with an ecological
focus. To do so, we critiqued entries on five major categories of
plant–animal interactions: frugivory, herbivory, pollination, granivory and
seed dispersal. We found that the entries were generally limited in both
breadth and depth, included only cursory lists of citations and occasionally
devoted attention to topics that were at best marginally relevant (one
memorable example was the discussion of ‘fruitarians’ – people who
consciously adopt a strictly frugivorous diet – in the entry on frugivory).'
'We found the process straightforward and efficient, particularly once we
learned the protocol for proposing and implementing changes. Editing was
also simplified by adhering to Wikipedia’s clearly established framework for
page organization, reference management and the inclusion of tables and
pictures...We were occasionally frustrated by interactions with an
intransigent author who rapidly and repeatedly reverted our revisions –
something that might be common when editing entries on controversial topics.
However, we nonetheless found the experience to be rewarding, similar in
scope and time commitment to writing a more traditional term paper (Figure
1) and extremely valuable as an exercise in critical thinking and
communication skills.'
'Although we recognize that the time, professional incentives and public
recognition for doing so are limited, we believe that improvements to this
now ubiquitous reference source are particularly important given the
increasingly public debates on ecological and evolutionary topics. The
revision of Wikipedia entries can easily be incorporated into undergraduate
and graduate courses, the service activities of student organizations,
laboratory meetings, extension programs and the annual meetings of
professional societies.'
--
gwern
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Whether you can or can't, any way you are correct. - Henry Ford