Wikimedian service
Share your research through Wikipedia
Wikipedia is the world’s most widely used reference work, read more than 7 billion times each month. The content readers find there has far-reaching impacts on society. By improving coverage of your field on Wikipedia, you can make a significant contribution to the quality of our knowledge ecosystem and allow your research, and that of others, to reach new audiences.
LSE’s Wikimedian in Residence can support you in disseminating your research through Wikipedia and improving the coverage of your field in the encyclopaedia, for example by adding research findings, summaries of key debates, contributing new sections to existing articles, or creating new entries.
What are the benefits of disseminating research on Wikipedia?
Sharing your research where people look for it. Wikipedia is often the first place people turn for information and is usually among the top Google results for most topics. It is also a major source of information for AI models. The better Wikipedia is, the better the information provided by AI.
Reaching audiences beyond academia. Wikipedia offers a platform for communicating research with the general public in an accessible language. You can present your research in context, alongside the necessary background information. Besides lay people, Wikipedia’s wide readership includes university students, policymakers, and researchers.
Making your findings international. Wikipedia is available in more than 300 language editions, each with its own content and community. Information you add to English Wikipedia may be translated by community editors. You can also contribute directly to Wikipedias in major languages or those most relevant to your research area.
How the LSE Wikimedian can help
Consultation and presentations
The Wikimedian can meet with you, your team, or your department to discuss how Wikipedia can be used for research dissemination. They can also deliver a 15-30 minute presentation explaining how Wikipedia works.
Workshops
The Wikimedian can organise and facilitate collaborative workshops, an effective and impactful format for contributions by academics. These streamlined sessions focus on writing text rather than teaching Wikipedia editing, with all the technical aspects handled by the Wikimedian. During these hour-long events, participants can significantly improve information about their research area on Wikipedia while working in collaboration with other researchers. Workshops can involve members of the same team or department and work equally well as a way to collaborate across LSE or with external partners.
Teaching and supporting Wikipedia editing
The Wikimedian can also teach you how to edit Wikipedia directly and provide ongoing support. This is particularly useful for those who plan to integrate Wikipedia editing in their research practice.
Involving students
The Wikimedian can help you explore how Wikipedia editing can be integrated into your teaching. Contributing to Wikipedia is a valuable entry point to open science and teaches students critical skills, including finding and assessing available literature, and communicating science to lay audiences.
What the LSE Wikimedian cannot help you with
The Wikimedian cannot create pages for individual researchers due to Wikipedia's conflict of interest policies. It is important to note that biographical articles on researchers attract much fewer readers than articles related to research topics. Engaging with Wikipedia in the ways outlined above will result in greater reach and impact than having an article about yourself.
Get in touch
If you are interested in using Wikipedia to disseminate your research and improve coverage of your field, contact Adam Harangozó to discuss what format would work best for you or your team.