Not just Wikipedia: The role of communities in creating open knowledge resources and open databases
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18778/0860-7435.42.05Keywords:
Wikimedia, Wikipedia, Wikidata, open scienceAbstract
Being an integral part of the internet for 25 years, Wikipedia is an important subject of research not only as a source of information, but also as an example of a grassroots model of knowledge organisation. The article examines the relationship between academia and Wikimedia projects, focusing on Wikipedia and Wikidata as parts of open knowledge infrastructure. It outlines the scale and role of Wikimedia projects and discusses their use in research and education as sources of information, research tools, objects of analysis, and spaces for collaboration. It also highlights selected research areas, including content quality, inequalities in knowledge representation, artificial intelligence, and collaboration in grassroots, community projects.
Particular attention is paid to Wikidata as an open linked database. The article also discusses examples of institutional collaboration, pointing out the benefits and challenges of cooperation between the academic community and Wikimedia projects and emphasising their growing role in the processes of democratisation of knowledge and the development of open science.
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