HKK123

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Civil Engineering Student

Significant Editing Disclosures

NYU Coursework: Spring 2018

Notes related to Wikipedia work and activities

Evaluate Wikipedia - Due: 02-05-2018

Have left a comment on the talk page of the following wiki pages:

• William Milnor Roberts

  • Body of knowledge

    • Engineering Economics

Discussion: What's a content gap? - Due: 2018-02-19

• 1. What do you think a content gap is, and what are some possible ways to identify them?
  • The content gap occurs when people cannot find the information they are looking for in Wikipedia. You cannot find much information about the topic you search or the article about that topic does not have enough reliable sources.
• 2. Does this meet the criteria for a "content gap"... is the material relevant?.. how many articles refer to this page?
  • Yes, this meets the criteria for a "content gap" . Some of the materials appear in the link may be useful and also give us an idea on what kind of topics we can work on.
• 3. What are some reasons a content gap might arise? What are some ways to remedy them?
  • One of the reasons is that people have not find enough reliable source to support the topic. People can search the topic from the Wikiproject page and try to research and find more independent sources about it.
• 4. Does it matter who writes Wikipedia? Should only Civil engineers write Wiki articles?... What does our specialized training offer the reading public that uses Wikipedia?
  • No, anyone can write on Wikipedia and that is the great thing that Wikipedia offers. No matter who you are as long as you provide reliable source and good citation to support and remain objective in your writing will be good.
• 5. What does it mean to be "unbiased" on Wikipedia? How is that different, or similar, to your own definition of "bias"?
  • "Unbiased" on Wikipedia means to write neutrally. That means do not add opinions from yourself and cite the source properly. Do not copy but paraphrase it with your own words with proper citation.

Recommendations for creating an article in Wiki- Due: 2018-02-19

• • In order to creating an good article in Wiki, you can search the topic from the WikiProject and start to search for two or more independent reliable source to support your topic. You can also choose to contact an Wiki Expert to help you out in the process. When you find the source you want, read and make notes before you start to write on your own. Based on the note you have, use your own words and paraphrase it. Do not look at the original text when you are writing to avoid plagiarism. Remember to make all the citations that you have used and write in a objective way. Do not add your subjective view. Avoid Bias!

Add to an article - Due: 2018-02-26

• Milnor Roberts article is chosen.
  • I choose a citation relevant to the article I am evaluating and leave my recommended citation and edit material on the Milnor Roberts article's Talk page.
  • Link to the article: William Milnor Roberts

Copyedit an article - Due: 2018-02-26

John Charles Lounsbury Fish

• There are very few information about John Charles Lounsbury Fish on the Wiki Page. I think more citations and materials are needed to add into the page to enrich the content. On this page, the author lists out the works that he has done in just one sentence, "He is known for his works Mathematics of the Paper Location of a Railroad (1905), Earthwork Haul and Overhaul: Including Economic Distribution (1913), Technique of Surveying Instruments and Methods (1917)...". The sentence is too long and it looks clumsy. It is better to present the information in a table or bullet format, so that the readers can clear see.
• Moreover, for the sentence "John C. L. Fish provided the critical bridge between the pioneering effort of Arthur M. Wellington in his engineering economics work of the 1870s and the first publication of the Principles of Engineering Economy in 1930 by Eugene L. Grant". I think that it is too long. The sentence can look like, "Fish provided a critical bridge for Arthur M. Wellington's work in 1870s and Eugene L. Grant's work in 1930". The name of the work and information can add as a reference at the end. Readers who are interested to find more can click at the link to find out more.

Discussion: Thinking about sources and plagiarism - Due: 2018-02-26

Assignment - Due: 2018-02-26

• Blog posts and press releases are considered poor sources of reliable information. Why?
  • Blog posts and press releases are considered as poor sources of reliable information because there is usually lack of citation from multiple resources. They usually have their subjective view and opinions in their text. As a reliable source, the information states there should be objective and it should have reference to back up any ideas introduce there.
• What are some reasons you might not want to use a company's website as the main source of information about that company?
  • We will use a company’s website as the main source of information about the company when we want to know about the history of company. The mission and service provided by the company. It is a good way to get to know the company through their website. However, the company will tend to write their good sides on the website. There are also biased for the information they provided.
• What is the difference between a copyright violation and plagiarism?
  • The main difference between the copyright violation and plagiarism is that you do not have the right to use the information without permission for copyright violation and plagiarism is that you use other’s ideas as your own work without making a proper citation.
• What is public domain mean? ...
  • Public domain means that anyone can access to the information freely.
• What does fair use mean?...
  • Fair use means that you use the information with proper citations and paraphrasing.
• What are some good techniques to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism? Copying text from other sources?
  • The best way to avoid close paraphrasing and plagiarism is to make notes while you are reading. When you start to restate the points or ideas that the author is said in the text that you just have read, writing out the ideas by your own words. Do not look at the original text when you are writing since you will tend to use the same word in your writing when you look at that. Also, remember to state any sources you are paraphrasing even you are not copy that word by word. You are not allowed to copy the text from other resources. You should try to paraphrase it using your own word with proper citations.

First draft on improving a civil engineering article

Assignment - Due: 2018-03-06

Have left a comment on the talk page of the following wiki pages:

• Arthur M. Wellington

Thinking About Wikipedia

Definition of "neutrality" or "No original research" Viewing as General Public

It is hard for the general public to identify whether the information written on Wikipedia is neutral or not, especially for the knowledge related to engineering. They may not have the knowledge before and Wikipedia is the place where they try to look for explanation. Although there is a citation of the sources, it is hard for the public to judge whether the source is neutral or not. As everyone can edit the information on Wikipedia, the authors may add their opinions on the website at any time. It is hard to ensure everything on Wikipedia is neutral and true. If Wikipedia was written 100 years ago, it is hard for people to find the sources that can relate to and the information provided may be too old to match up with the things nowadays. In 100 years from now, Wikipedia may not be useful because the technology should be grown. There are more and more reliable websites appear for people to compare the source and information from Wikipedia. People may easily get a detailed and reliable resource about the things they search when compare today.

Definition of "neutrality" or "No original research" Viewing as Engineers

Engineers can judge the knowledge written on Wikipedia is neutral or not based on their knowledge learn from books, schools and industry. They can easily identify the information and sources by themselves.If Wikipedia and civil engineering topics were being written 100 years ago, it is hard for engineers to find the sources that are cited from since the information is too old. It is hard to check if the sources and information are reliable. In 100 years from now, Wikipedia may not be as relevant if they remain unchanged. Technology is growing fast. New technology may appear to search for more reliable information which is written by experts based on reliable sources. More websites with reliable sources of information may also appear to replace Wikipedia as well.