Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science

Fall 2020 #citeNLM Edit-a-thon

The fall #citeNLM campaign period will run from October 1-31, 2020. This edit-a-thon will focus on improving articles related to Maternal and Child Health.

Our all day virtual #citeNLM Edit-a-thon takes place on Thursday, October 29. Join your colleagues and NNLM staff for a live editing session from 1-3 PM ET to chat about Wikipedia, edit articles, and connect with the #citeNLM community. No prior experience required! 

How to Participate

Step 1: Create a free account on Wikipedia

Step 2: Register on our campaign dashboard

• Sign-up to independently participate in our one-day virtual edit-a-thon on October 29, 2020 or host your own virtual event
• If you’re a new editor, or new to WikiProject Medicine, complete the training modules on Wikipedia Basics and/or Editing Medical Topics

Step 3: Find an article that needs a citation. Here are some strategies:

• Choose one of the pre-selected articles on the program dashboard
• Find an article with sourcing or other problems
• Select an article while browsing pages related to the campaign theme

Step 4: Cite a source

• Find a source from NLM or other reliable website to support the article
• Add a citation using Wikipedia Style (learn more about adding citations from 1Lib1Ref)
• Add the project hashtag #citeNLM in the Wikipedia Edit Summary

Step 5: Share!

• Include the hashtag #citeNLM in your tweets about the event and follow the hashtag to interact with fellow Wikipedians
• Drop a pin of your location on our participant map

#citeNLM Wikipedia Edit-a-thons

Wikipedia’s health topics pages are visited a staggering 7 billion times a year, making it possibly the world’s most popular health information resource. The objective of #citeNLM is to improve the credibility and content of medical and health-related articles on Wikipedia by adding citations and information from National Library of Medicine (NLM) sources.

NLM is actively engaged in reaching a major strategic goal to “reach more people in more ways through enhanced dissemination and engagement pathways.”

By holding #citeNLM Wikipedia Edit-a-thons, we can:

• Make it easier to get credible, evidence-based health information online
• Disseminate NLM sources and increase their reach
• Leverage network members’ expertise, experiences, and audiences
• Engage NNLM members nationwide

Our NNLM #citeNLM campaigns run twice per year, in the Fall and Spring. Join NNLM staff members and Wikipedians virtually during our twice yearly one-day edit-a-thons or host an event at your institution anytime during the campaign period. Check-out our Organizer’s Guide to learn how.