This WikiProject aims primarily to coordinate the efforts of Wikipedians interested in Science in an effort to improve popular articles in Science. It is motivated by the belief that a good scientific article should be understandable by the "general public", as well as interesting to the scientifically inclined.
We believe that this is important because popular articles are most read, and improving them benefits many. At the same time, contributing to them brings us the satisfaction that it will be appreciated by many.
Thus, the goals of this WikiProject are as follows:
To attract Wikipedians to the cause, and focus the effort for maximum efficiency
To serve as a nexus and discussion area to build consensus on how to write good scientific articles.
The approach is to start with the most popular scientific articles, and follow on with the more specific ones. We consider that the most popular scientific articles are the ones that are most referenced by other articles (as Google does).
How you can help
Anybody can help!
Identify target articles
Improve and discuss the proposed structures of articles
Improve target articles
Sign the Guest Book below, and add this page to your watchlist to see what is going on
See more details below. Thanks for helping out !
Target articles
The list below contains scientific articles that are referenced more than 500 times by other articles, in alphabetical order:
Not reviewed yet (insert new ones alphabetically):
Here is the procedure to add an article to these lists:
scan a list of articles, eg. in a category, to find popular articles
go to the article and click on "What links here" to see how many references it has.
check that it has more than 500 references
This can be done by using the "limit" and "offset" parameters in the "what links here" link where limit=20 and offset=495, for which 3 different outcomes are distinguishable
"no pages link here" which occurs if there are <495 links to an article (example WHYY)
>5 articles, which indicates that there are >500 articles linking to the targer (example Brain)
<5 articles, meaning that there 495<n<500 articles link to the target {no example}
note that the article count includes links from the Wikipedia, Category, Talk, and other non-Main article spaces
--> Review not complete (Reviewed for "Done" items in listing above)
check if it needs restructuring (see the proposed article structure below).
if it does not need restructuring:
-->Done
if it needs restructuring:
--> Need restructuring
Optional: write a to-do list
add {{todo1}} at the top of the talk page of the article; this creates a to-do list of priority 1.
click "Edit this list" and add the tasks to be done to improve it; please add a reference to Wikipedia:WikiProject Science, in order to advertise our project.
it is good etiquette, but not a requirement, to contribute to an article before creating a to-do list.
--> Structure identified
restructure the article by moving things around (Be bold : avoid using a temporary page)
remove the to-do list
add {{WPStructure|Science}} at the begin of the talk page
--> In progress
fill any missing sections
--> Done
bring it to Feature Article status
--> Feature article
If it has less than 500 references but still needs improvements, you are still encouraged to insert a to-do list of lower priority ({{todo2}}, ... ). Again, include a reference to Wikipedia:WikiProject Science, in order to advertise our project.
We propose that the first part of article be targeted to the general public, while the second part be targeted to the scientifically inclined. The recommended section headings are in bold below.
Note: please add {{WPStructure|Science}} at the begin of the talk page
if you use one of these structures.
Scientific object / concept
(a "What": temperature, atom, electric current, DNA, brain ...)
Introduction (with the major points, accessible to the general public)
What field / theory is the concept used in?
What other concepts is it related to, and how ?
How is it significant ? What does it help understand ?
Is it known to be incomplete or incorrect?
Are there any individuals who should be noted as primary theoricians of the concept?
Pictures and diagrams are most helpful here
"What is <Concept> ?" (some sections below might not be relevant; avoid discussing how it works here)
Types / classifications of <Object/Concept>
Properties / capabilities of <Object/Concept>, with the range of values / behavior that can be observed, or significant values
Units of measure
"<Concept> and its environment"
<Object/Concept> in Nature / in the Universe / on Earth: where it can be found; since when; how it appeared naturally
<Object/Concept> in everyday life
<Object/Concept> in medicine: applications
<Object/Concept> in industry: applications
<Object/Concept> in culture
<Object/Concept> in religion
<Object/Concept> in the laboratory
Founding experiments / observations
Measurements / observations of each of the object's property / behavior
Use in the lab (to study other objects)
Theory of <Object/Concept>
Fields of study: descriptions of the fields that study the concept / object
Structure / anatomy: describe the sub-elements of the concepts, and the structures in which it takes part
How it works: describe how the theory explains the <concept / object> properties and capabilities
Current research: topics currently under investigation
History
Describe how the concept came about
Consider previous concepts, and their limitations.
Scientific theories and discoveries
(the "How it works")
Introduction: Explanation accessible to the general public.
What field is the theory/discovery in?
What other theories/discoveries is it related to, and how?
How is it significant ? What does it help solve ? What are its successes ?
Is it known to be incomplete or incorrect? (Consider Newton's laws, relativity, quantum mechanics, etc.)
Are there competing contemporary schools of thought and/or individuals or groups who should be noted as primary architects or discoverers?
Pictures and diagrams are most helpful here
Theory
It's fine to add equations and supporting technical material here.
Full discussion of limitations, unsolved problems, and proposed replacement theories (or links thereto).
Current research: theoretical topics currently under investigation
Applications (avoid theory here)
In everyday life: What is the impact on every day life?
In industry
Impact on society: What are the economic or political implications ?
History
Founding experiments or observations: describe the major experiments or observations that are the basis for the theory
Consider making this a separate article for longer pieces, or making a common history article that several related theories/discoveries can use in common, rather than re-telling the same story over and over again.
Describe how the modern theory came about.
Consider previous theories, discoveries, and beliefs.
Consider the points raised by Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
Scientific biographies
Introduction
birthdate, death, briefly what is this scientist best known for
Research? -some biographies would do better if Biography and Research are combined
Contributions to his or her field of study, major experiments and theories
Biography -chronological order of life history
Birthplace and early life
Where he/she was educated
Life outside of science (eg political activism, military service)
Positions held and awards
Cause and place of death
Bibliography
Do not include all papers, only major papers and books
References
Other
Please consult other scientific WikiProjects for proposed structures for chemical elements, particles, space, chemistry, etc.
IUPAC Standard
In the interest of consistency and clarity the IUPAC standard should generally be used for chemical names in science articles. Alternative spellings and names should be referenced in addition, especially when dealing with regional issues and historical development.
The IUPAC currently recommends these spelling for element names:
Aluminium instead of aluminum
Caesium instead of cesium
Sulfur instead of sulphur
However, some exceptions apply, especially for more complex molecules that are better known by their common name. For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see Wikipedia:WikiProject Chemicals/Style guidelines#Title.
While not a key objective of this WikiProject, we propose the following guidelines when categorizing articles:
The category mechanism makes it easy to see all the articles in a particular field. To add an article to a category, simply add [[Category:aField]] at the end of the article (where aField is replaced by the relevant field).
We recommend to use the fields of science as the hierarchy of scientific categories.
This project is no longer active and scientific articles should be directed to the general peer review. Reviews of articles that were completed are archived here.
Guest book
Please sign-in ! This will encourage others to do so too...
Jacob Rothstein (talk) 04:47, 10 April 2008 (UTC) I'd love to help with neuroscience, psychology, statistics, and computer science. I also quite like making figures and plots/charts.
ww 16:54, 2 Aug 2004 (UTC) I'm certainly sympathic with this project, though taken aback by the scope. I will attempt to assist, time and previous commitments permitting.
Dr. Strangelove 13:54, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC) Nice project. I certainly will try to contribute. Unfortunately, I lack the time for great projects at the moment, but I will focus on smaller, more specific articles from the fields of biochemistry and chemistry.
theresa knott 20:17, 12 Aug 2004 (UTC) I'd love to help out. My main interest is in drawing diagrams ( a picture is worth a thousand words). My main expertise is physics but I like to tinker with other disciplines as well.
Lexor|Talk 09:20, 19 Sep 2004 (UTC) The project is a good idea, but I don't think it would be good to be too dogmatic about the names of the "in practice", "in theory" sections, more on Talk page.
ClockworkTroll 15:23, 3 Oct 2004 (UTC) I'll be happy to help with biology (esp. genetics) and chemistry; though this is a huge undertaking, its purpose is a noble one.
Whosyourjudas(talk) 22:38, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC) -- I'd love to help out. I've got a good bit of chem and biology in me.
Vsmith Been at it, need to sign in :) -Vsmith 21:16, 10 Oct 2004 (UTC)
-Adenosine- 09:03, Mar 7, 2005 (UTC) I'm a genetics/microbiology student, looking at those areas
Sambostock 01:45, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC) I'm an undergraduate whole-organism biologist (particularly behavioural ecology) and chemist. Leave a message on my talk if there any projects you want help with.
Fastfission 15:16, 8 May 2005 (UTC) -- I am a graduate student in the history of science and technology, my expertise is in the history of 19th and 20th century biology and physics, writ largely.
H Padleckas 11:07, 24 May 2005 (UTC) I've just added some extra sections to the Spectroscopy article which I saw on the Talk:Spectroscopy page was part of this project.
Loren 16:00, 24 May 2005 (UTC) Looks good! I'm a grad student in aerospace engineering (undergrad in physics). I'll be happy to contribute on topics related to physics, astrodynamics, and meteorology/atmospheric science.
Jotomicron | talk Hoping to join, though I'll just assist at first!
Scope_Creep July 30th, 2005 17:30 (UTC) Excellento. Wouldn't mind doing a big project. I'll contrib where I can first.
Mr.Bip 20:57, 2 August 2005 (UTC) I'm a recent grad, majored in biochem, going to medical school soon. I'm going to be working on lots of biology-related articles.
Techguru August 4 2005 (UTC) I'm not an expert in anything but i know a fair amount about all the sciences and technologies and would love to assist on projects.
Bumfluff 03:38, 9 September 2005 (UTC) i have been working on Earthquake the last few days then i saw this, am new so know far more about earthquakes than articles, some coments would be nice
dzou 23:42, 12 October 2005 (UTC) I'm a grad student studying psychology/cognitive science. Happy to help out!
Jeeb 01:33, 13 October 2005 (UTC) Plant sciences, ecology, biology in general; science methods.
Mycota 17:50, 30 October 2005 (UTC) Botany, mycology, evolutionary biology
CH(talk) 02:26, 7 November 2005 (UTC) Math, classical physics. Nice! Well thought-out, should be useful to prospective authors of core science articles (the ones which organize the more specialized articles I prefer to write).
—Nightstllion(?) 13:07, 1 February 2006 (UTC) — Yeah, why not. Don't know how active I will be, but I'm definitely interested.
Serephine • 2 January 2006 - Second year microbiology and pathology student, looking forward to contributing to scientific knowledge on such an accessible level.
pweberfromeureka@yahoo.com would like to make a few comments about some of the contributions. I do not have a degree in the physical sciences, although I am interested in them. I am, however, working on a Masters in Sociology.
Fisheye 04:27, 8 February 2006 (UTC) - I am a professor of Biology. I research the evolution of the vertebrate eye and would like to work on any eye/vision pages. The eye page needs restructuring.
Evolauxia 13:41, 9 February 2006 (UTC) Background in geosciences, significant knowledge in mathematics and human biology/medicine
Samsaracontribtalk 15:42, 27 February 2006 (UTC) I guess I should sign here, seeing that I've made a number of contributions to science articles and am maintaining Science Collaboration of the Week and occasionally helping with Portals Science and Biology as well as Wikiproject History of Science. - Samsaracontribtalk 15:42, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
, a computer nerd and previous SCOTW moderator. 05:36, 10 March 2006 (UTC)
Daniel Collins 02:39, 15 March 2006 (UTC). Hydrology, geomorphology, ecology.
Enlil Ninlil 04:58, 8 June 2007 (UTC) Anything to do with palaeontology.
Scorpion451 05:02, 2 July 2007 (UTC) Undergraduate in Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech, but my interests run the scientific gamut, I enjoy creating new articles and making jumbled piles of jargon into legible articles, besides doing tweaking where I can.
Marasmusine (talk) 12:50, 5 July 2008 (UTC) – I'm a subscriber to New Scientist and have access to their online archive, and I'm determined to make good use of it. Pyrolobus fumari is my first foray into the world of science articles.