Skip to Main Content

University Library

LibGuides

University Library STEM Wikipedia Edit-a-thons

IGB Fall 2023 Wikipedia Edit-a-thon!

Finding Information in the Library and Beyond

What to Add to a Wiki Entry

From Wikipedia's "What to Include" page

General scope of facts and information to include

  • Some questions to help you understand.
    • Should Wikipedia include everything? well, obviously not.
    • Should it include all information? well, no, since that includes people's phone numbers, dry-cleaning, etc etc. so again, obviously not.
    • Should it include all facts? well, no, but now we are getting closer. it should include those facts that are of historical, societal, scientific, intellectual or academic significance.

Things to Consider When Editing

As you look through the list provided of possible people to highlight in Wikipedia, consider the following about what might be missing from certain pages:

  • Is biographical information included about the person?
  • Are there images of them or things related to their scientific contribution?
  • Is the impact of the work they have done or their place in the field made clear?
  • Are the facts in the entry cited?
  • Is there an "infobox" with quick information in the entry?

 

Wikipedia-Edit-a-thon 2023

The goal of this edit-a-thon is to increase representation of diverse voices and histories in STEM on Wikipedia!

Perhaps you already know who or what you would like to write about, however, if you would like some ideas, check out an extensive list here: IGB Edit-a-thon 2023 Spreadsheet (information will continue to be added up to the edit-a-thon dates).

This list contains diverse individuals from across the sciences, there are even some folks with history at the University of Illinois on this list.