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Wikipedia:Wiki Ed/Baldwin Wallace University/Introduction to Music Research (2017 Fall)

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Course name
Introduction to Music Research
Institution
Baldwin Wallace University
Instructor
Paul Cary
Wikipedia Expert
Shalor (Wiki Ed)
Subject
Music research
Course dates
2017-08-21 00:00:00 UTC – 2017-12-04 23:59:59 UTC
Approximate number of student editors
10


This course will introduce students to the nature of research in music. We will study the ways in which music information is created, disseminated, and organized. Students will learn to locate, organize, evaluate, and use information.

Student Assigned Reviewing
Jmbukovac Chug-A-Lug (The Beach Boys song)
Ccastle15 George F. Root
We areserenity Frank Ticheli
Aedvis Tonadilla
Luxapendragon Sarah Makem
Octoroc Mike Reed (musician)
Sammid15 Music industry of East Asia
Jzhao14
Cvelcko
Eddiebaldwin123456789 Polystylism

Timeline

Week 1

Course meetings
Monday, 2 October 2017
In class - Introduction to the Wikipedia project

 Welcome to the course timeline for Introduction to Music Research. This page will guide you through the Wikipedia project. 


 This page breaks down editing a Wikipedia article into a series of steps, or milestones. These steps include online trainings to help you get started on Wikipedia. 


 Your course has also been assigned a Wikipedia Expert. Check your Talk page for notes from them. You can also reach them through the "Get Help" button on this page. 




Assignment - Get started on Wikipedia
  •  Create an account and join this course page, using the enrollment link I sent you.  
  • You can join wikipedia with your real name or with a pseudonym. I'll be able to track your progress either way, so think about how much anonymity you want. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Username_policy#Real_names and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_anonymous
  •  It's time to dive into Wikipedia. Below, you'll find the first set of online trainings you'll need to take. New modules will appear on this timeline as you get to new milestones. Be sure to check back and complete them! Incomplete trainings will be reflected in your grade. Make sure you are logged in when doing any training. I can't credit you for it if you aren't logged in.
  •  When you finish the trainings, practice by creating your user page. Your page will be there, you just need to click on your username at the top of any page, then click the Edit tab and add something about yourself. You probably don't want to be too specific but tell people a little about your interests. Or use it to express your creativity. Try experimenting with colors and styles. If you want to get more into design, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:User_page_design_center
Milestones

This week, everyone should have a Wikipedia account.

Week 2

Course meetings
Monday, 9 October 2017
In class - Discussion
Thinking about Wikipedia
  • What are Wikipedia's five pillars?
  • What do you think of Wikipedia's definition of "neutrality"?
  • What are the impacts and limits of Wikipedia as a source of information?
  • On Wikipedia, all material must be attributable to reliable, published sources. What kinds of sources does this exclude? 
  • How is writing for Wikipedia different from writing a research paper?
  • If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, how might its content (and contributors) be different? 


Assignment - Evaluating Sources

Complete the training module on Evaluating Articles and Sources. In class next week, we will look at a couple of articles and compare them to other encyclopedia articles.

Week 3

Course meetings
Monday, 16 October 2017
In class - Discussion
What's a content gap?

Now that you're thinking about what makes a "good" Wikipedia article, consider some additional questions.

  • Wikipedians often talk about "content gaps." What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • Does it matter who writes Wikipedia?
  • What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?


In class - Evaluating articles

In class, we will look at Wikipedia articles on Scherzo and Minuet, evaluate them, and compare them to articles in Grove Music Online.

Please bring devices to class.

Assignment - Evaluate Wikipedia

 It's time to think critically about Wikipedia articles. You'll evaluate a Wikipedia article related to the course and leave suggestions for improving it on the article's Talk page.


  • Complete the "Evaluating Articles and Sources" training (linked below).
  •  Create a section in your sandbox titled "Article evaluation" where you'll leave notes about your observations and learnings. 
  •  Choose an article on Wikipedia related to your course to read and evaluate. As you read, consider the following questions (but don't feel limited to these): 
    • Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?
    • Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
    • Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
    • Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?
    •  Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted? 
    • Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?
    •  Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? 
    • How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
    • How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  •  Optional: Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback with four tildes — Luxapendragon (talk) 19:39, 20 November 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Week 4

Course meetings
Monday, 23 October 2017
In class - Discussion
Thinking about sources and plagiarism
  • Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
  • What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
  • What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
  • What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism?


Assignment - Choose possible topics
  • Review page 6 of your Editing Wikipedia guidebook.
  • Look up 3-5 potential topics related to the course that you might want to update on Wikipedia. Review the content of the article and check the Talk page to see what other Wikipedians are already contributing. Identify one or two areas from each that you could improve.
  • Choose 2-3 potential articles from that list that you can tackle, and post links to the articles and your notes about what you might improve in your sandbox.
  • Finally, present your choices to your instructor for feedback.

Week 5

Course meetings
Monday, 30 October 2017
Assignment - Finalize your topic / Find your sources
  • On the Students tab, assign your chosen topic to yourself.
  • In your sandbox, write a few sentences about what you plan to contribute to the selected article.
    • Think back to when you did an article critique. What can you add? Post some of your ideas to the article's talk page, too.
    • Compile a list of relevant, reliable books, journal articles, or other sources. Post that bibliography to the talk page of the article you'll be working on, and in your sandbox. Make sure to check in on the Talk page to see if anyone has advice on your bibliography.


Assignment - Draft your article

You've picked a topic and found your sources. Now it's time to start writing.


Improving an existing article?


  •  Identify what's missing from the current form of the article. Think back to the skills you learned while critiquing an article. Make notes for improvement in your sandbox

Keep reading your sources, too, as you prepare to edit the body of the article.


Resources: Editing Wikipedia pages 7–9


Milestones

Everyone has begun writing their article drafts.

Week 6

Course meetings
Monday, 6 November 2017
Assignment - Expand your draft
  • Keep working on transforming your article into a complete first draft. Get draft ready for peer-review.
  • If you'd like a Wikipedia Expert to review your draft, now is the time! Click the "Get Help" button in your sandbox to request notes.


Assignment - Literature review is due

The literature review for the research paper is due today. This is NOT part of the Wikipedia assignment and is here for information only. See Blackboard for details.

Week 7

Course meetings
Monday, 13 November 2017
Assignment - Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

 Once you've made improvements to your article based on peer review feedback, it's time to move your work to Wikipedia proper - the "mainspace." 


Editing an existing article?


  • NEVER copy and paste your draft of an article over the entire article. Instead, edit small sections at a time.
  •  Copy your edits into the article. Make many small edits, saving each time, and leaving an edit summary. Never replace more than one to two sentences without saving! 
  •  Be sure to copy text from your sandbox while the sandbox page is in 'Edit' mode. This ensures that the formatting is transferred correctly. 



Week 8

Course meetings
Monday, 20 November 2017
Assignment - Continue improving your article

Do additional research and writing to make further improvements to your article, based on suggestions and your own critique.

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 12 to see how to create links from your article to others, and from other articles to your own. Try to link to 3–5 articles, and link to your article from 2–3 other articles.
  • Consider adding an image to your article. Wikipedia has strict rules about what media can be added, so make sure to take Contributing Images and Media Files training before you upload an image.


Assignment - Polish your work

Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Remember to contact your Wikipedia Expert at any time if you need further help!

Week 9

Course meetings
Monday, 27 November 2017
Assignment - Research paper

The research paper is due on November 30. This is NOT part of the Wikipedia assignment and is here for information only. See Blackboard for details.

Assignment - Final article

It's the final week to develop your article.

  • Read Editing Wikipedia page 15 to review a final check-list before completing your assignment.
  • Don't forget that you can ask for help from your Wikipedia Expert at any time!

Week 10

Course meetings
Monday, 4 December 2017
Milestones

Everyone should have finished all of the work they'll do on Wikipedia, and be ready for grading.