We’re pleased to announce a new handbook for students writing articles about genes and proteins for classroom assignments.
When we started creating our Ecology handbook, we wanted to create a guide for students interested in sharing information about life on Earth. When we set out to create a biology handbook for students, we found there was just so much to cover, it wouldn’t fit in just one. With this handbook on Genes and Proteins, we’re zooming in on the world of genetics. That complements our existing guides, Writing Wikipedia articles on Species, which covers writing about plants, animals, and fungi.
Genes and Proteins offers advice specific to articles on those topics: suggestions for reliable journals (and how to identify poor quality journals), how to structure an article to keep in line with other genes or protein articles, and even how to create a relevant infobox for individual proteins, protein families, enzymes, GNF proteins, nonhuman proteins, and RNA families.
When it comes to open science, Wikipedia is particularly important in the context of educational resources. By keeping reliable information on genes and proteins available in an easy-to-find place, students have a place to turn to for quick clarifications of their understanding of science. Finding an overview of a topic with a pre-vetted list of sources can make the difference in taking future research one step further. With this information on Wikipedia, more people have a starting point to explore the world of science, or begin to explore a popular science topic more deeply. They can help fill in the pieces for lay scientists to get back up to speed quickly on the topics that matter to them.
This guide was written in collaboration with our Wikipedia Content Expert in the Sciences, Ian Ramjohn, Ph.D. Ian’s dual Ph.D. (in Plant Biology as well as Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior), provided a deep background in relevant fields.
We’re also grateful to other experienced Wikipedians who helped us. Volunteers at WikiProjects Science and Molecular and Cell Biology created the backbone of this handbook over years, establishing and documenting the best practices and techniques for writing these types of articles. Users Andrew Su, BatteryIncluded, Boghog, DrBogdan, Gtsulab, KatBartlow, and Opabinia regalisshared additional ideas and resources.
These handbooks are just one part of Wiki Ed’s Year of Science campaign. They’re available as free .pdfs for everyone on Wikimedia Commons, and in print for any science instructors teaching through our program. If you’d like to get involved, reach out to us through the Year of Science page or e-mail us: contact@wikiedu.org.
