Information Literacy Commons^™

Reframing Wikipedia As An Information Source: Concepts And Strategies For Critical Inquiry And Digital Literacy., Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

Since its inception in 2001, Wikipedia has grown to become the largest and most popular reference source in the world. Contrary to the idea that it lives in the Internet’s Wild West, this resource has robust infrastructure, with editorial guidelines, processes, and dedicated volunteers who help to make Wikipedia an invaluable information source for learning about almost any topic. Of course, it’s also true that not every Wikipedia article is reliable, and that the quality and depth of articles ranges. The crowdsourced nature of Wikipedia, along with its extensive editorial processes, make it not only a powerful (albeit imperfect) reference …

Early Response To False Claims In Wikipedia, 15 Years Later, P.D. Magnus

Philosophy Faculty Scholarship

Fifteen years ago, I conducted a small study testing the error-correction tendency of Wikipedia. Not only is Wikipedia different now than it was then, the community that maintains it is different. Despite the crudity of that study’s methods, it is natural to wonder what the result would be now. So I repeated the earlier study and found surprisingly similar results.

Exploring Wikipedia As A Tool For Community Building And Teaching And Learning, Timothy R. Dewysockie, Andrea Baer

Libraries Scholarship

Wikipedia has become a widely accepted information source. Wikipedia is also by its very nature centered on community and on building and growing knowledge collectively. However, many are still understandably skeptical of how credible Wikipedia content is, and a gap remains between how frequently we use Wikipedia and how well we understand it. Wikipedia creates an opening for exploring how information is created and circulated, how the information creation process is often negotiated collectively, and how to critically evaluate online information. This session will explore how Wikipedia can be a rich tool for both teaching information literacy and building community …

Meet Students Where They Are: Centering Wikipedia In The Classroom, Diana E. Park, Laurie M. Bridges

Communications in Information Literacy

There is a common classroom refrain, “Don’t use Wikipedia; it’s unreliable.” Unfortunately, this simple dismissal of the world’s largest repository of information fails to engage students in a critical conversation about how knowledge within Wikipedia is constructed and shared. Wikipedia is available in almost 300 languages, it is the top result in most Google searches, and it provides free, well-sourced, information to millions of people every day. However, despite these positives, there is uneven geographic, historical, and cultural representation; there are well-known information gaps related to women, gender, and sexual identity; and the majority of Wikipedia editors are white, …

Crowdsourced Pedagogy: Editing Wikipedia And The Framework For Information Literacy For Higher Education, Courtney Stine

Faculty Scholarship

Although often used by students for academic research, Wikipedia has historically been ignored or shunned by librarians in the information literacy classroom. However, as one of the most popular websites worldwide, Wikipedia matters. Visitors frequent Wikipedia to get free access to information, reference articles for background information during current events, and as a starting point for further research. Librarians can implement Wikipedia as a crowdsourced pedagogical tool for teaching students the six information literacy threshold concepts in the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.

Writing and editing Wikipedia articles showcases the research process, requiring students to understand how …

Improving College Students’ Fact-Checking Strategies Through Lateral Reading Instruction In A General Education Civics Course, Jessica E. Brodsky, Patricia J. Brooks, Donna Scimeca, Ralitsa Todorova, Peter Galati, Michael Batson, Robert Grosso, Michael Matthews, Victor Miller, Michael Caulfeld

Publications and Research

College students lack fact-checking skills, which may lead them to accept information at face value. We report findings from an institution participating in the Digital Polarization Initiative (DPI), a national effort to teach students lateral reading strategies used by expert fact-checkers to verify online information. Lateral reading requires users to leave the information (website) to find out whether someone has already fact-checked the claim, identify the original source, or learn more about the individuals or organizations making the claim. Instructor-matched sections of a general education civics course implemented the DPI curriculum (N=136 students) or provided business-as-usual civics instruction (N=94 students). …

Wikipedia And Scholarpedia: A Comparative Case Study And Its Implications To Information Literacy, Junli Diao, Stefka Tzanova, Anthony Bishop

Publications and Research

The free online Wikipedia receives increasing attention from academic librarians; however, its counterpart Scholarpedia seems to be neglected. This case study selected two articles bearing the same title Intentionality from Scholarpedia and Wikipedia and brought them under scrutiny of their microstructure and macrostructure. Both microstructure and macrostructure analysis indicated that the addressed readership of the two encyclopedic articles is understandably different in terms of readability and content. The comparative case study concluded with empirical implications that both online, free encyclopedias provide academic librarians with pedagogical instruments to help students engage in authentic knowledge construction.

Analyzing Information Sources Through The Lens Of The Acrl Framework: A Case Study Of Wikipedia, Trudi E. Jacobson

Communications in Information Literacy

Might the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education be used to analyze information resources? Would a Framework-focused analysis of one commonly used resource, Wikipedia, yield valuable insights for the teaching and learning of key information literacy concepts? Each of the six frames is explored in the light of Wikipedia, and metaliteracy, a founding principle of the Framework, is introduced when it provides additional scaffolding in connection with the goals of a particular frame as a way to enhance student learning opportunities. There are a number of components in Wikipedia that align with the Framework …

Drive Traffic, Increase Links, Michele Gibney, Nicole Grady

Digital Commons Southeastern User Group 2020

One of the best ways to drive traffic to an institutional repository site is by adding links to it from other, established sites. This could be your institutional website – adding links from a departmental page to the department’s scholarly work. Or from your social media platforms to a relevant article corresponding with a topical news event. Another option is Wikipedia. Have you considered leveraging Wikipedia’s astronomical base of users for your own ends? With an average of 200 million+ page views a day, Wikipedia is an excellent resource to drive traffic to your IR.

But HOW can you accomplish …

Wikipedia As An Authentic Learning Space, Michele Van Hoeck

LOEX Conference Proceedings 2013

No abstract provided.

Developing Ethical, Responsible, And Reliable Information Producers, Trudi E. Jacobson

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

The university course that I teach addresses information literacy and metaliteracy, derived from both the Association of College & Research Libraries Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and metaliteracy's roles (https://metaliteracy.org/ml-in-practice/metaliterate-learner-roles/) and learning domains, respectively. The course uses Wikipedia editing to bring home a number of important concepts and practices to students, These include the frames Information Has Value (in particular, we consider gender issues connected to Wikipedia editing and content), Searching as Strategic Exploration, and Information Creation as a Process. The metacognitive and affective learning domains are highlighted, and two metaliteracy themes, Engage with Intellectual Property …

Shaping Wikipedia Editing As A Teaching And Learning Tool To Promote Deep Learning And Information Literacy, Nadine Dexter, David Lebowitz Md, Amin Azzam Md

Southern Chapter/Medical Library Association Annual Conference

Research has shown that at least 94% of medical students use Wikipedia as an information resource (Usaid, 2012), despite medical school faculty telling them not to. In fact, medical schools do not train students to improve Wikipedia or use it critically (Azzam, 2017). The Wikiproject Medicine course was created at the invitation and in partnership with Dr. Amin Azzam at the University of California San Francisco, who started the original program in 2013. This class is offered to 4th year medical students and gives students an opportunity to edit already existing health related articles in Wikipedia to improve their quality …

Wikipedia, Socialpedia, And Randompedia: How Could One Play By The Rules When There Aren’T Any?, Junli Diao

Publications and Research

This article documents a cataloging librarian’s personal narrative that reflects his experience of organizing Wikipedia-Edit-thon. This experience leads to a journey of self-education about Wikipedia, a divergence to preconceived notions about it, and an embrace for a change in the future.

Improving The Quality Of Consumer Health Information On Wikipedia: Case Series., Shira Schecter Weiner, Jill S. Horbacewicz, Lane Rasberry, Yocheved Bensinger-Brody

The School of Health Sciences Publications and Research

BACKGROUND: Wikipedia is one of the most consulted health resources in the world. Since the public is using health information from Wikipedia to make health care decisions, improving the quality of that health information is in the public interest. The open editable content design of Wikipedia and quality control processes in place provide an opportunity to add high-value, evidence-based information and take an active role in improving the health care information infrastructure.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this project was to enhance Wikipedia health pages using high-quality, current research findings and track the persistence of those edits and number of page …

Why Wikipedia Often Overlooks Stories Of Women In History, Lara Nicosia, Tamar Carroll

Articles

Wikipedia's reliance on a volunteer editing base has resulted in a gender bias both in the quantity and quality of content around women. With less than 20% of Wikipedia's editors identifying as women, only 30% of biographical entries have been written about women and entries on women tend to be shorter and more focused on relationships and family roles than entries on men. This article explores the causes of Wikipedia's gender bias and offers ways that both individuals and institutions can help improve Wikipedia's content around women.

Connecting Wikipedia And The Archive: Building A Public History Of Hiv/Aids In New York City., Ann Matsuuchi

Publications and Research

This is an overview of a project that was started in 2015 that was collaboratively designed by archivists and historians with the La Guardia & Wagner Archives and LaGuardia Community College’s faculty/librarians. It involves students in the production of a needed public history of the outbreak and impact of HIV/AIDS in New York City via writing and researching contributions to Wikipedia.

Wikiwomen's Edit-A-Thon: Creating A New Article, Megan Wacha

Open Educational Resources

This handout was developed for the WikiWomen's Edit-a-thon at Queens College held on March 29, 2017. Attendees created and edit articles about women, women of color, and particularly women in dance, literature, visual arts and music.

The event was co-sponsored by Wikimedia New York City, Queens College's Center for Teaching and Learning, Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance, Godwin-Ternback Museum, Queens College Music Library, Rosenthal Library, and Writing at Queens College.

Chapter 06 - Web Literacy, Rebecca M. Marrall, Jenny K. Oleen

The Research Process: Strategies for Undergraduate Students

Identify the concepts of web literacy; learn about Google and Wikipedia as research tools; and explore the Digital Divide phenomenon.

Let Wikipedia Through The Gates!: A Trojan Horse Approach To Information Literacy, John Thomas Oliver

Library Instruction West 2014

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate which learning targets can be achieved by using Wikipedia as a tool for teaching information literacy within the context of brief one-shot library instruction sessions.

Design/methodology/approach – In this case study, a Wikipedia-editing activity was incorporated into 2-hour one-shot instruction sessions. A variety of qualitative data were collected during these sessions: Student reflections during a facilitated discussion, student responses to exit-survey questions and instructor observations about the extent to which students completed Wikipedia-editing tasks.

Findings – Students found Wikipedia-editing activities and Wikipedia-related discussions engaging, and as a result they seemed …

Demystifying Wikipedia At Smu, Jiaxin Low

Research Collection Library

Singapore Management University's Li Ka Shing Library hosted "Demystifying Wikipedia: Tips for Information Literacy" on 22nd August 2013. Speakers included Mr. Maximilian Klein and Dr Jack Tsen-Ta Lee who discussed using Wikipedia for information literacy as well as in teaching and learning.

Information Literacy Skills In A World Of Google And Wikipedia, Emily Gover

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Five And A Thousand Practical Ways To Use Wikipedia In Instruction, Jean Cook

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Information-Seeking Behaviors Of First-Semester Veterinary Students: A Preliminary Report, Sharon A. Weiner, Gretchen Stephens, Abdelfattah Y.M. Nour

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Although emphasis in veterinary education is increasingly being placed on the ability to find, use, and communicate information, studies on the information behaviors of veterinary students or professionals are few. Improved knowledge in this area will provide valuable information for course and curriculum planning and the design of information resources. This article describes a survey of the information-seeking behaviors of first-semester veterinary students at Purdue University. A survey was administered as the first phase of a progressive semester-long assignment for a first semester DVM course in systemic mammalian physiology. The survey probed for understanding of the scientific literature and its …

Engaging Learners Through Wikipedia, Megan Dazey, Samantha Hines

Mansfield Library Faculty Publications

In August 2010, a professor in the University of Montana School of Journalism approached the authors to draft a Wikipedia-based assignment for the course JOUR380: News Editing.

Wigwam Research, Lynne A. Rhodes

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Google Is Not A 4-Letter Word And Wikipedia Is Not An Obscenity, Suellen Adams

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

See presentation description.

Blogging Your Research: Teaching Students To Critically Assess And Participate In The Culture Of Electronic Research And Writing, Amy Ratto Parks

Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy

Whether we like it or not, most student writing these days happens through facebook, myspace, twitter, and texting. Though we assume that academic reading and writing ought to be distinct from social writing, it often isn’t. Students will go to Google for celebrity gossip or information on the Civil War and accept the information about both on equal terms. The seemingly simple nature of online access to information requires that we give students concrete tools to critically assess the information they find there. The fact that many students consider Wikipedia as a credible resource is evidence of this. It looks …