I too believe that the ideal approach is for academics to write about other people's work: that is why my original question was about ways of tracing/counting this.
But if you're saying that a research student writing about other people 'a work (plural, not singular ) is not advisable because they are somehow a 'proxy', I must say I don't quite see it that way, but thank you for helping me to see the multiple ways in which this could be construed. Sent from my mobile > On 10 Jul 2014, at 18:21, Jon Beasley-Murray <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Jennifer: > > I would be very wary indeed of the model you're proposing, in which either > individual researchers or their proxies insert their work into Wikipedia. We > see enough of that already, and I would be concerned if there were any > official (or even semi-official) encouragement of the practice. > > The issue is less conflict of interest (though that's true, too) as > (self)promotion (which you seem to be actively encouraging) and undue weight. > > This is not to say that professors (academics, researchers) should not be > writing in their areas of expertise. Of course they should! But perhaps a > rule of thumb is that they should be writing about *other* people's work in > that area, rather than their own. > > Take care > > Jon > >> On Jul 10, 2014, at 7:43 AM, Jennifer Gristock <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Greetings everyone. I'm still working on that system to encourage university >> professors to contribute to Wikipedia, a system that is concerned not >> through teaching, like the Education Programme, but through research. >> >> I need some help. Can you tell me, in the Wikipedia API, is there a way to >> count the contributions that a user has made on behalf of another particular >> user? For example, a professor might ask a group of PhD students to make >> contributions involving his/her research on various Wikipedia pages, on >> his/her behalf. >> >> I have been frequently told (at the Teahouse and elsewhere) that Professors >> are not allowed to contribute information about their own published research >> papers on Wikipedia pages, because this would be biased. (Which is rather a >> downer for the professor, because this means they are forbidden to write >> about the things they are most passionate and knowledgeable about.) >> >> If this is rule is true, then it must certainly be seen as a roadblock to >> academic engagement with Wikipedia. If it isn't, then it is editors' >> perception of the rule as true (as I have experienced) that is the roadblock. >> >> It seems to me that the way to overcome this roadblock is to introduce a way >> of counting the contributions made by a person (say, a research student, or >> a colleague) on behalf of a Professor. So at the end of the year, the >> Professor can say 'my research contributed to X edits on Wikipedia' as >> easily as each individual student (who might contribute on behalf of many >> academic researchers) can count their individual edits. >> >> Can the API accommodate this in some way? Perhaps through some sort of >> 'project' code or something? >> >> >> Yours hopefully, >> >> Jenny Gristock (Open_Research) >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >>> On 9 Jul 2014, at 22:40, LiAnna Davis <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> Hi all! >>> >>> I wanted to draw your attention to the Educator Training we'll be having as >>> part of the Wikimania Pre-conference on August 7: >>> >>> https://wikimania2014.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education_Pre-Conference/Educator_training >>> >>> The Educator Training is designed to give educators of all levels the >>> knowledge they need to use Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects as a >>> teaching tool in their classrooms. The training is open to educators from >>> any country, and Wikipedia editing experience is not required. >>> >>> If you're interested in attending or you know someone who is, please see >>> the page for more information. I especially encourage anyone who's thought >>> about getting a Wikipedia Education Program going in your country to >>> attend, as you'll learn a lot about the different kinds of assignments >>> students could do. >>> >>> LiAnna >>> >>> >>> -- >>> LiAnna Davis >>> Head of Communications and External Relations >>> Wiki Education Foundation >>> +1-415-770-1061 >>> www.wikiedu.org >>> >>> Please note my new email address and update your contacts accordingly: >>> [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Education mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education >> _______________________________________________ >> Education mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education > > > _______________________________________________ > Education mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education _______________________________________________ Education mailing list [email protected] https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
