Kill two birds with one stone with Wikipedia

**Detta blogginlägg är också tillgängligt på svenska**

This blog post is not about Wikipedia as a source. Rather, I will focus on Wikipedia as a channel for research communication.

Studies indicate that Wikipedia can be an effective tool for research dissemination. For example, Wikipedia is a source frequently consulted by physicians and medical students.[1] Wikipedia is a universal encyclopedia, and its open source software allows everyone to contribute content.  Researchers can contribute by writing about research results in an accessible way and by providing references to their publications. For researchers, Wikipedia offers a venue for popularizing science and scholarship, and at the same time making their own research more visible, thereby killing two birds with one stone.

The structure of a Wikipedia article

There are a few elements common to all Wikipedia articles. Here is an example:

– The title of the article [1].

– The body text [2] has its first words written in bold. In this example, there are many references to other Wikipedia articles. These headwords are only hyperlinked the first time they occur in the text.

– External links (for example, to a publisher’s website) are listed under this heading [3].

– Under [4], references that occur in the text are listed.

– An often-forgotten feature is the categorization of articles [5]. This is a way to contextualize the article, which is of value to both readers and contributors.

– At the bottom of the page, the applicable Creative Commons license is given (CC BY-SA). Content on Wikipedia can be redistributed freely, if the source is referenced and the CC license is retained. (The CC BY-SA license has also been given to this blog post, as indicated at the bottom of the text.)

– At [7], you can edit the article.

– If you want to have a look “behind the scenes”, you can go to “View history” [8]. Here you can view earlier versions of the article, and when and by whom the article has been edited. In some cases, this can prove interesting reading indeed!

– At [9], it is indicated if you have logged in to Wikipedia or not.

The varying quality of Wikipedia articles

Some articles on Wikipedia are not very good. Others, on the other hand, are of high quality and well substantiated. By viewing the history of the article and its talk page (see Thomas Piketty) you will get a good indication if the subject matter is controversial or neglected (Paternopoli=not updated for a long time). This is one way of assessing the quality of the article. Other parameters to look at: does the article have references (Irpinia – good) or footnotes (even better)? Are referenced sources scholarly (Hofstede’s cultural dimensions)?

Wikipedia as a tool for research dissemination

As a researcher, you have a unique opportunity to help make Wikipedia better, and at the same time make your own research more visible. Before we go into how to do this in a smart way, remember to:

1. Never create an article about yourself. If you are important enough to have an article on Wikipedia, someone else will write one.

2. Never create a whole new article about your research. This is especially important if you are not a seasoned contributor on Wikipedia.

3. Never look at Wikipedia as a channel for marketing your own research. Try instead to enrich and nuance existing articles. If you approach Wikipedia in a humble way, it is more likely your contributions will last.

Instead, start with enriching an existing article

Locate an article related to your research field, add a few sentences with relevant information and reference an already published academic source. If you have published research on the subject, you have the opportunity to reference that. If you have written a press release, a popular account or a leaflet about your research this will help you write your Wikipedia article. Make sure to reference your own research publication!

If you get hooked and go on to create new articles, there are a few other things to keep in mind. Make sure to link the article to other articles in Wikipedia. Don’t create an “orphan” article, they are more likely not to survive. Put some extra effort in adding categories to your article – look at how similar articles have been categorized.

 

Learn to write in a new genre

Different audiences mean different uses of language. The style on Wikipedia is very different from that of a scholarly article. The best way to learn is by reading other Wikipedia articles, and begin practicing on a small scale. If you follow the advice above and start by enriching existing articles, you will likely not run into any problems. You will automatically fall into the style of existing content.

The technical aspect of editing will not present many difficulties. Edit the article in the text editing mode [7].

If you become a frequent contributor to Wikipedia, I recommend that you create your own account. If you only make a few edits a year, there is no need to have an account.  If you have an account, you can interact with other Wikipedians through your own user page and you get your own sand box to develop your articles. You can also create your own watchlist with articles that you are especially engaged with.

You are not the one in control!

If you think of Wikipedia as an endless project that is constantly being revised, it is easy to imagine that you own edits might not survive. Don’t lose faith if your contributions are deleted. Ask yourself why this happened, and try to learn from experience the next time you edit an article on Wikipedia.

Learn more

Which LiU researchers are Wikipedia editors? Swedish Wikipedia has 128 articles that have been edited by LiU researchers, the English version 42 (11 November, 2019)

Help: Wikipedia editing for researchers, scholars, and academics

Is your research already referred to at Wikipedia? Altmetrics holds the answer. The colour black on your ”Altmetric donut” indicate that your publication has been cited on Wikipedia. The easiest way to check this is through your DiVA publication list (create it here).

Want to learn more? We will gladly come to your department to hold talks or workshops!

By Johanna Nählinder, senior coordinator of reseach support, Linköping University Library, under CC BY-SA. Translated by Peter Igelström.

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[1] Metcalfe, D. & J. Powell (2011) Should doctors spurn Wikipedia J R Soc Med 104(12): 488-489.

Nytt open accessavtal med storförlagen Wiley och SAGE

** This blogpost is also available in English **

 

Vad betyder detta för dig som forskare?

Att du fr.o.m. januari 2020 kan publicera dig open access utan kostnad i Wileys tidskrifter, både ren open access och i hybridtidskrifter.

Att du från fr.o.m. januari 2020 kan publicera dig open acess utan kostnad i SAGEs hybridtidkrifter. Publicerar du dig i en av förlagets rena open accesstidskrifter får du 20% rabatt (du kan än så länge ansöka om resterande belopp från vårt tillfälliga open access-stöd. https://www2.bibl.liu.se/oafond/login.aspx)

Detta är så kallade transformativa avtal som innebär att forskare kan sprida sin forskning öppet, och kan tillmötesgå forskningsfinansiärerna krav om open access. Tranformation består av att tidskrifterna på sikt blir helt öppet tillgängliga, och att kostnaden för avtalen förskjuts från att betala för läsning till att betala för forskarnas publiceringskostnader.

Linköpings Universitetsbibliotek har nu avtal med de största förlagen i världen – Springer, Taylor & Francis,och från årsskiftet Elsevier, Wiley och SAGE – samt ett antal mindre förlag och lärda sällskap. Det innebär att LiU-forskare kan publicera sig öppet tillgängligt i en stor mängd ledande tidskrifter utan någon kostnad. Du finner en fullständig lista över förlagsavtalen här: https://liu.se/artikel/rabatt-publiceringsavgift

 

Skrivet av Tanja Blixt, bibliotekarie avdelningen för medieförsörjning

New open access agreements with the large publishers Wiley and SAGE

 

** Detta blogginlägg är också tillgängligt på svenska **

What does this mean for you as a researcher?

From January 2020 you can publish your research open access in Wiley journals without any cost. This applies to both pure open access journals and hybrid journals.

From January 2020 you can publish your research open access in SAGE hybrid journals. If you publish in SAGE pure open access journals you get 20% off (you can still apply for the rest of the cost from our temporary open access support: https://www2.bibl.liu.se/oafond/login_en.aspx

The new agreements are so-called transformative agreements, which means that researchers can disseminate their research openly and compliant to funder open access requirements. The transformation means that over time these journals become purely open access and that the lowering cost of reading is displaced by covering the publishing costs of an increasing number of articles written by LiU researchers.

Linköping University Library now have agreements in place with the largest publishing houses in the world – Springer, Taylor & Francis, and starting 2020 Elsevier, Wiley and SAGE – as well as a number of smaller publishers and learned societies. You can find a complete list of our publisher agreements here: https://liu.se/en/article/rabatt-publiceringsavgift

Written by Tanja Blixt, librarian at department for Asquisitions

New open access agreement with Elsevier

** Detta blogginlägg är också tillgängligt på svenska **

What does this mean for you as a researcher?

From January 2020 you can publish your research open access in Elsevier journals, including Cell Press, and learned society journals. Without any cost. We have also regained reading access to Elsevier journals and you no longer need to use GetItNow or interlibrary loan to get access. Read the press release!

(CLARIFICATION 191203: To publish articles open access without cost, articles must be submitted after 1 January 2020. Hybrid articles in the Lancet family of journals and some learned society journals aren’t covered under the agreement.)

After one and a half years without reading access to any of Elsevier’s journals, Sweden has signed a so-called transformative agreement with the publisher. From January 2020 the library covers all costs for publishing open access in the majority of the publisher’s journals – both hybrid and pure open access. This means that LiU researchers can publish freely without paying a single dime. Publishing under this model is compliant with funder requirements for open access.

During the summer of 2018, negotiations with Elsevier fell apart. Sweden was one of a number of countries that terminated their relationship with the publisher. The reason was that the parties were unable to agree on the matter of open access publishing.

When an increasing number of researchers publish open access, we pay less to access research hidden behind paywalls. Simultaneously, we pay an increasing amount for LiU publishers to cover their article processing charges. This means a transfer of costs from reading to publishing, solving the issue of paying for openly accessible research.

 

Read more about the background 
Read more about LiU’s publishing agreements
Read more about the new agreement model – transformative agreements – (in Swedish)

 

Written by Tanja Blixt, librarian at the Acquisitions Department 

Nytt open accessavtal med Elsevier

** This blogpost is also available in English **

Vad betyder detta för dig som forskare?

Att du från januari 2020 utan någon kostnad kan publicera dig open access i Elseviers tidskrifter, inklusive Cell Press och flera lärda sällskap. Du har nu också tillbaka lästillgången till deras tidskrifter igen och behöver inte längre använda GetItNow eller fjärrlån för att komma åt Elsevierartiklar. Läs pressmeddelandet!

(FÖRTYDLIGANDE 191203: Kostnadsfri publicering av öppet tillgängliga artiklar gäller bara artiklar som skickas in till förlaget efter 1/1 2020. Hybridartiklar i The Lancet-tidskrifter samt vissa titlar från lärda sällskap täcks inte under avtalet.)

Efter ett och ett halvt år utan lästillgång till någon av Elseviers tidskrifter har nu Sverige på nationell nivå slutit ett så kallat transformativt avtal med förlaget. Från och med årsskiftet bekostar biblioteket open accesspublicering i majoritet av förlagets tidskrifter – både i rena open accesstidskrifter och hybridtidskrifter. LiU-forskare kan alltså publicera sig fritt hos förlaget utan att betala en krona. Att publicera under denna modell är förenligt med forskningsfinansiärerna krav om open access.

Sommaren 2018 brakade förhandlingarna med Elsevier ihop. Sverige var ett av flera länder som bröt med Elsevier då man inte kunde enas om open access och vi har sedan dess stått utan ett avtal. Det nya avtalet innebär att svenska lärosäten igen får lästillgång – men också fritt kan publicera sig.

I Sverige förhandlar biblioteken stora avtal med förlagen centralt, via konsortiet Bibsam. De avtal som sluts samförhandlar både läs- och publiceringskostnader för open access. När fler och fler publicerar sig open access ska läskostnaden sänkas så att man inte betalar dubbelt, i takt med detta betalar vi istället mer för att täcka publiceringsavgifter för LiU-forskare. Kostnaden förskjuts alltså från läsning till publicering. Detta löser problemet med att betala för redan öppet tillgänglig forskning.

 

Läs mer om bakgrunden
Läs mer om LiU:s publiceringsavtal
Läs mer om den nya sortens avtal – transformativa avtal

Skrivet av Tanja Blixt, bibliotekarie på Avdelningen för medieförsörjning