ASA Wikipedia Initiave
How to Join
There are three easy steps to join the APS Wikipedia Initiative:
1. Create Wikipedia Account
(If you already have a Wikipedia
account, you’re ready for Step 2)
2. Register with the ASA Wikipedia Initiative.
3. Specify your interest and expertise.
Related Links
A Call to Duty:
ASA and the Wikipedia Initiative
by 2012 ASA President
Erik Olin Wright
ASA is calling on its members to support the Association’s mission to deploy the power of Wikipedia to represent the discipline of sociology as fully and as accurately as possible. In addition, we seek to promote the free teaching of sociology worldwide.
The broad goals of the ASA Wikipedia Initiative (ASAWI) are:
Ensure that articles about sociological research, terminology, and theory are accurate, up-to-date, complete, and written in a style appropriate for the general public,
Ensure that articles are based on independent reliable secondary sources
To represent scientific controversies from a social science perspective, writing articles in a neutral style
Improve and review articles to Good Article and Featured Article quality
Assess sociology-related articles and tag them appropriately when there are problems
All ASA members are encouraged to participate by adding new entries and enhancing existing ones with more complete and accurate information with references. This is an especially exciting initiative for teachers and students who can make updating or creating Wikipedia entries part of coursework.
Such work can teach students:
that even the simplest ideas are hard to communicate to general audiences
the importance of logic, strength of argument, flow and clarity of writing, and citations of the appropriate literature
the significance of accuracy in scientific writing
To get you started and guide you through the editing process, the ASAWI portal includes:
Tutorial materials introducing Wikipedia, the Wikipedia community, and the editing process;
Tools to match ASA members and students to appropriate volunteer opportunities in Wikipedia; and
Easy ways to connect contributors to fellow volunteers and to Wikipedia experts