The Wikipedia Library – #OAWiki #OAWiki (Open Access for All) – an annual fall event.
Help editing Wikipedia
You have two options: editing using OAbot or editing directly from a Wikipedia entry.
Getting Started with Editing
Register an account (Note: If you don't have a personal account, you should first create a personal account; on English Wikipedia you can't register as your organization.)
Check that the Visual Editor is turned on by ensuring "Temporarily disable the visual editor..." is unchecked in your preferences on your main language Wikipedia (here on the English Wikipedia). w:Wikipedia:Visual editor allows you to use a feature called "Citoid" which uses an API to get preformatted reference information (see the documentation for more details).
Whenever you check whether a citation is Open Access in Wikipedia, make sure to include the hashtag #OAWiki in the edit summary.
Note that instructions 1–2 default to English Wikipedia. Change the language to your preferred Wikipedia, though note that accounts are global.
Checking references
In OABot
These instructions are for English Wikipedia; other Wikipedias have slightly different interfaces. Instructions for adding references in OABot are here.
OpEd editor allows you to go directly to a reference to check whether it is OA.
A highlighted link will appear to a citation. You have the option of adding or skipping that link
To check if the link is OA, click on the link
If the link is OA, it will open in your browser to the cited material (or to a link to the cited material; if there is a link, be sure to click on that link as well to make sure it does NOT take you to a paywalled source). If it is NOT OA, it will open to a page requiring some kind of log in or membership and a paywall
If the link is OA, click "Add Link".
If the link is not OA, click skip
You can then refresh the page for a new link to check
Click save in the top right corner of the page
Add an edit summary of your change that includes the hashtag #OAWiki
Examples
Adding a free to read |url=:
Before: Groussard, M.; Rauchs, G.; Landeau, B.; Viader, F.; Desgranges, B.; Eustache, F.; Platel, H. (2010). "The neural substrates of musical memory revealed by fMRI and two semantic tasks". NeuroImage53: 1301–1309. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.07.013.
The reference toolbar in the Wikitext editing interface, showing where to find the different types of citation styles.
Identify a reference in a Wikipedia article by clicking on the superscript number associated with the reference in the text
Click on the highlighted blue link, if it is present
Determine whether the source you are linked to is OA
Does the link open to the full source? If yes, it is highly likely this is an OA source
Does the source open to a page from a book or article or an abstract but not the full source? Check the page for a link to the full source (look for a pdf or html page link). If there is not a link to the full source, you will need to do an internet search for a link to that article. If there is a link to a full source, then this is probably an OA source. (see the dropdown in the image on the right)
Does the reference open to a paywall? If so, this is not OA.
Continue to the next reference in the document
Add an edit summary of your change that includes the hashtag #OAWiki
Click save below the edit summary box
Tips
Reliable sources for Wikipedia include any source with a history of editorial control (newspapers, books, finding aids, scholarly journal articles, editorially controlled websites). The stronger the reputation or the greater the authority of the author on a topic, the more well received it will be.
Though Wikipedia favors sources that are Open Access,[1] it doesn't require them (after all, some knowledge can only be found in print books or behind paywalls). However, a reference to an open access source means that more public readers get a chance to find and read the research they need through Wikipedia. Wherever possible, we want to provide OA links.
