Public confidence in Wikipedia is high. Think of your own habits. How often do you start your own searches for information here?

It is an easily accessible and democratic way to communicate information. In some low-income countries, browsing Wikipedia is even free of charge through an agreement with the company.

The first thing you need to do is create an account and select the language before you can add text to an article. Each article has a discussion page, where you can discuss your changes with others before making them. There is also something called the “sandbox”, where you can test out functions.

 

“My colleague Olle Terenius and I usually say that if a researcher invests just a small fraction of their working time in this, they have come a long way, and the university library provides support to anyone who wants to get started,” explains Jonas Petersson, Coordinator for Wikipedia at Uppsala University.

“And feel free to write that doctoral students are encouraged to make a contribution when they finalise their dissertation. When a press release is sent out in connection with a publication from the University, it echoes in Wikipedia. When this happens, it is a good idea to make sure there is an article in Wikipedia!