Wikis in Action: A Wiki as a Research Guide
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Ohio University Libraries Wikis in Action: A Wiki as a Research Guide Chad F. Boeninger Computers in Libraries March 22, 2006
description
Wikis in Action: A Wiki as a Research Guide. Chad F. Boeninger Computers in Libraries March 22, 2006. Traditional Research Guides. Research guide = subject guide = pathfinder Popular method of disseminating library information Previously had 3 research guides Business Research Guide - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Transcript of Wikis in Action: A Wiki as a Research Guide
Ohio University Libraries
Wikis in Action:A Wiki as a Research Guide
Chad F. BoeningerComputers in Libraries
March 22, 2006
Ohio University Libraries
Traditional Research Guides
Research guide = subject guide = pathfinderPopular method of disseminating library informationPreviously had 3 research guides• Business Research Guide• International Business Research Guide• Marketing Research Guide
Ohio University Libraries
Traditional Research Guides
Redundancy of resourcesNo interlinkingMultiple edits of the same contentNot searchableNo way to measure useTimely updates are difficult
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The Wiki Process
Installed MediaWiki on our serverAdded most useful content from old research guidesWiki organization evolved while adding content
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The Biz Wiki
Organized by area of research needBrowse by category or alphabetSearchable by keywordUsers can edit/add contentInterlinked articles allow for increased access to information
http://www.library.ohiou.edu/subjects/bizwiki/
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Reference Content
Key reference resourcesGuides to common questionsDefinitions of termsExamples: • Demographics USA • Doing Business in Another Country• Company Annual Reports
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What About the Catalog?
Library catalog entry for Exporter’s EncyclopaediaBiz Wiki article for Exporter’s Encyclopaedia
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Instruction Content
Wikis make excellent teaching toolsReplace class handoutsBroader scope than class specific handoutsExample: Industry Research Basics
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On the Fly Content
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“On the Fly” Content
1. Answered reference email question
2. Similar question via IM3. Used content of
previous question to create wiki article
4. Answer is out of email and on the web
5. Easier future access to information
Wiki Article
IM Question Answer Email
Reference Email
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Popular Pages Feature
Popular PagesSee what is being usedUseful for collection development See what you need to create more of• Automobile Industry Guide
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Creating Content
Create an articleLink to the article from another articleAssign a category for the article
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Biz Wiki Usage1 24576 Academic Search Premier2 6875 Lexis-Nexis Academic3 3770 ERIC4 3712 Business Source Premier (BSP)5 3378 PsycINFO6 2327 BIOSIS Previews7 2325 Business and Industry8 2063 Education Abstracts9 1970 JSTOR10 1757 Science Citation Index Expanded
11 1704 Factiva12 1659 Medline (1966 to the present)13 1364 General Science Full Text14 1356WorldCat15 1313 Biz Wiki16 1294 RefWorks17 1271 Hoover's Online18 1229 Communication & Mass Media Complete19 1210 Oxford English Dictionary20 1195 AnyWho Directory
January 1-March 2, 2006
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Feedback on the Wiki
“You weren’t around, so I showed them the Biz Wiki Guide to Doing Business in Another Country, and they were satisfied.”--Reference Librarian“I had no idea how to find a swot analysis, so I just searched for ‘swot’ in the Biz Wiki, and low and behold, you had an article on finding a SWOT analysis.” ---Reference Librarian
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Wiki Challenges
Getting others to contributeMore content = more maintenanceMaintaining organization and structure with growth of contentDifficult to see new contentSpam, Spam, and more SpamMySQL stop words (SIC)
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Wiki Strengths
Extend the reach of the librarian• Promote sources• Teach research skills
Make the job of the librarian easier• Easy to add and edit content
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More Wiki Strengths
Make information and knowledge more accessible• Content is more timely
Potential for contributing to the academic learning community
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Future of Wikis
Wiki/Blog/RSS workshopsPromote feedback mechanisms of the wikiGather input from users (librarians, students, faculty)Record usage of library resources
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More Wiki Ideas
Student Research WikisFirst-year experience wikiCampus collaborationMulti-disciplinary subjects (Latin American Studies/Women’s Studies/Film)
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Special Thanks
Alden Library Reference StaffAlden Library Systems StaffNumerous Library BloggersOhio University Business researchers
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Questions??
