Wikipedia Edit-a-thon for Women in Science and Engineering

"According to a 2005 study done by Nature, Wikipedia contains only slightly more inaccuracies in science-related topics than does Encyclopaedia Britannica" (Chandler, 2010)

Shigeru Tamura circa 1939

College courses rarely encourage students to do their research with Wikipedia, but there is value in teaching students the importance of critically evaluating sources, and contributing to the worlds' general knowledge on subjects. Faculty can guide their students, as well as contribute their expertise on subjects. Wikipedia is widely used and ambitious in that it aims to provide a free encyclopedia to anyone in the world. While the encyclopedia is the largest of its kind, there is still an imbalance in the depth and quantity of articles about women.

On April 8, 2016, a group of freshly minted and enthusiast ASU editors (students, staff and faculty) participated in the inaugural “Wikipedia edit-a-thon for Women in Science and Engineering.” The event started with a short presentation about how to edit Wikipedia and why it is important to do so by Rene Tanner, and then continued with one-to-one hands-on support. During the event participants improved eight articles by adding citations, links and proofreading edits, and created one new article.

Beatrice Mintz (b. 1921)

Future Plans:

We were encouraged by the positive response and plan to hold regular, monthly events in the fall, September-November, and one event over the summer in July--when it is so hot you will welcome the chance to be indoors editing! If you were unable to attend this most recent event, but are interested in this project, please visit the Wikipedia Meetup page! Your edits make a difference!

As editors, we can tip the scales toward inclusive representation one journal reference, one website link, one book citation, and one article at a time.

References:

• Chandler, C. J., & Gregory, A. S.. (2010). Sleeping with the Enemy: Wikipedia in the College Classroom. The History Teacher, 43(2), 247–257. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/stable/40543290