Paper #1

Wikipedia entry 

You have probably had at least one professor who has told you not to rely on Wikipedia as a reference. And yet you probably continue to do so. The purpose of this assignment is two-fold:

1) Since almost everyone uses Wikipedia, we will each do our part to improve it by either writing an entry from scratch or editing and expanding an entry, thereby contributing to the greater good.

2) The process of completing the assignment should make you reflect on why your professors have warned you to be very critical when using Wikipedia. Why do some people/events have entries yet not others? What information ends up making it into an entry, and what information is left out?

 My reasons for crafting this assignment are as follows:

 1) To motivate you to do a better job of research and writing by making it more relevant and important: people besides your professor and TA will actually read what you’ve written and rely on your expertise.

 2) To improve Wikipedia, particularly in regard to historically significant women.

 3) To encourage young women as well as men to contribute to Wikipedia; currently, only a small minority (less than 15 percent) are women, as detailed in the New York Times article linked below.

From a list of possible entries that I will provide, you will select a name or event. (Alternately, if there is another person or event that you would like to work on, you may ask for permission.) You will then communicate your choice via email to both me and Ms. Coulson, hcoulson@ucsd.edu). In cases of pre-existing entries, we will take screen shots of the web page as it currently stands. Your job is to either write a new entry from scratch, which must be appropriately sourced, or to determine how to edit and extend an existing entry so that it is better, more complete, and more adequately sourced. To do a good job on this assignment, you will most likely need to go to the library and not simply rely on information already circulating online.  That said, you will also want to consult databases available through the library, such as America: History and Life, JStor and Women and Social Movements in the United States. In addition to your work on your entry, you must also write a paragraph reflecting on whether and how the experience altered your view of Wikipedia or web research more generally. This should be printed out and turned in during class.

Important: As soon as you enter the actual changes on the website, you should email me and Ms. Coulson, so that we can take new screen shots and grade your work accordingly. This is essential given that someone else could theoretically come along and make additional changes (unlikely for most of the possible entries, but a possibility nonetheless.)

Getting started:

http://webtrends.about.com/od/wiki/ht/wikihowto.htm

Interesting articles to read about Wikipedia:

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/02/02/where-are-the-women-in-wikipedia

http://articles.businessinsider.com/2009-01-03/tech/29988468_1_jimmy-wales-wikipedia-insiders/3