Help:Wikipedia editing for medical experts

Thank you for your interest in sharing medical knowledge on Wikipedia. We greatly appreciate new members with a background in medical science who are interested in helping to improve and maintain the quality of Wikipedia's medical articles.

Note: This cheat sheet was created from Wikipedia:Identifying reliable sources (medicine) and Wikipedia:MEDHOW. I strongly suggest that you review these two documents before you make significant edits to Wikipedia's medical pages.

Introduction: Transiting from academic writing to Wikipedia

Many of Wikipedia's medical editors are clinicians, students, and researchers who are transitioning between an academic style of writing and Wikipedia's encyclopedic style. This can take some time and patience, but once you get the hang of it, many people in medical fields find contributing to Wikipedia an important way to share knowledge. In English Wikipedia alone for example, medical-related pages received over 2.27 billion page views in 2017 from around the world.

Quick notes for medical professionals transitioning from communicating science in a peer reviewed journal to Wikipedia

1. On Wikipedia we assemble articles from the research literature by summarizing high-quality secondary sources where experts in the field have already done the work of analysis the primary literature. We do not write "mini-reviews" of primary research studies directly. For experts who are new to editing Wikipedia, this style of writing is an adjustment from writing review articles or research papers for publication. This is discussed further in the next section.
2. Wikipedia's articles are not medical advice, but are widely used as a source for health information, please keep this in mind when you are adding content.
3. Paraphrase all content added into your own words (no quotations), but avoid writing in the first- or second-person.
4. Wikipedia uses terminology like "people" or "person" rather that "patients" when referring to people who have a condition. We also avoid "a person suffering from...", preferring "a person with ..."
5. Wikipedia articles are written in lay language so that people without a background in medicine can understand the sentences. We aim for a reading level suitable for an intelligent 15–16 year old.
6. For technical or medical terms, please include a "wikilink" the first time the term is mentioned.
7. Conflict of Interest (COI): Many medical editors are subject matter experts in their particular field and their ability to detect errors and omissions in articles is extremely helpful to maintain article quality, as is their knowledge of the literature. There are three kinds of conflict of interest in Wikipedia that experts are vulnerable to: a) writing about themselves, their friends, or their institution. b) giving emphasis to their own positions in controversies in their field. c) citing their own work. The first is easy to avoid. The second is challenging, but dispassionately summarizing high quality sources is possible, even in contentious areas. Finally, if an expert editor has written one of the recent high quality secondary sources in the field, citing that is welcome. If you do cite your own work and the content and sourcing is challenged, please discuss this on the article talk page, disclosing that you are the author, and the community will work together to improve the article in a neutral manner.
8. When editing medical articles on Wikipedia, being knowledgeable will permit the expert to find high quality reliable sources to use in Wikipedia articles. Personal experience or unpublished knowledge cannot be added to articles (please see WP:MEDRS discussed below).
9. Wikipedia has its own manual of style for medical articles. Please review WP:MEDMOS before adding new headings to articles, modifying the article lead, or adding large paragraphs.

What evidence is appropriate to use in Wikipedia articles?

Summary: Content that is biomedical information must accurately summarize recent, high quality, published secondary sources, where experts in the field have already gathered up and defined current knowledge. Such sources are described in the WP:MEDRS guideline, which has broad and deep consensus in the community. The bullets below summarize MEDRS:

• examples of acceptable sources: literature reviews or meta-analyses published in high quality journals, statements by major medical/scientific authorities like the NIH itself, the NAS, the CDC, the NHS, the FDA, the various mainstream colleges of medicine (for example, ACC guidelines). Textbooks are also useful.
• examples of non-acceptable sources: Research papers, including clinical trial papers, are generally avoided, as they are communicating new findings, which may or may not be or become accepted knowledge in the field. Anything published by a predatory publisher or marginal journal (for the latter, being MEDLINE indexed is typically a minimum). Sources older than around 7 years (there are, however, fields where new reviews are not generated regularly -- in those cases older sources are fine). University or hospital websites.

The reason for this requirement is that we do not expect Wikipedia editors to make their own analysis of sources. Therefore we need to make use of secondary sources where collation and analysis have already taken place. You may find the Training Module by the WMF Education Foundation helpful.

Getting Started: How to edit Wikipedia

The first step is to set up a Wikipedia account here. Your username can be anonymous or not, whichever you prefer.

Here is a good guide for first-time editors of Wikipedia: https://dashboard.wikiedu.org/training/students/editing-medical-topics

Quick Guide to getting started:

• Once logged in, open the Wikipedia article you are interested in contributing to and read it, taking note of the references used.
• Then gather together the sources you intend to use to improve the article.
• It is recommended that you practise editing in your sandbox – there's a link to it at the top right of each page. You can copy text there, alter it, add references, etc. You can make and fix mistakes there without affecting any articles until you feel you are ready.
• Before editing an article, open it and look at the top of the screen; you will see the following tabs:
• You should first look at the article "talk page" by clicking the [Talk] tab. This will contain any recent community discussion(s) pertaining to the article content, and information about the quality rating and relative importance of the article. Afterwards click on the [Article] tab to return to viewing the article.
• Most internet browsers allow you to switch to the newer "visual editing" (VE) mode. Please enable the visual editor in your preferences following these instructions: Wikipedia:VisualEditor/User guide#First step: enabling VE. If you cannot enable VE, editing and adding citations can be done in the basic wikitext editor by following the instructions at WP:MEDHOW.
• Once the visual editor has been enabled and you have your evidence and reference (as per MEDRS, above), click the "edit" tab. Being logged in at this stage will help the community identify and correspond with you.
• Add your text directly to the article while in the editing mode. A citation is preferred after every sentence in the body of the Wikipedia article. To add your medical citation, click the "cite" button. Paste your PMID in to populate the citation. Please place your citation directly after the punctuation like this, or like this. A detailed description on how to insert citations can be found at: Help:Footnotes.
• When you have completed your edit, please include a short summary of your edit. Then click Publish changes or Submit changes.
• Example of edit summary: "Added conclusions of a 2018 systematic review"
• Finally, look at the star to the right of [View history] on the tab bar. If it is not already coloured blue, then click it. This places the article on your personal watchlist, so you can monitor your edits and work with the community. Changes to the article can be viewed by clicking "View history".

Common shortcuts and FAQs

How do I insert a wikilink to another article on Wikipedia?

Highlight the text that you want to link, and click the link picture on the editing toolbar to search for the appropriate link.

My edit was recently reverted. What should I do?

If there was no explanation, or you disagree with the explanation, start a new section at the bottom of the article talk page, explaining why you think your edit improved the article. If you get no response within a day or two, make a post in a new section at the bottom of Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine, asking for someone to look at the issue.

I see a primary source presently being used in the Wikipedia article that does not meet WP:MEDRS. What should I do?

I am not certain if my source meets WP:MEDRS. How can I find out before I edit live?

Check the archives of the article talk page to see if it's been discussed previously. If not, make a post in a new section at the bottom of Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine, asking for someone to give you their opinion. You could ask on the article talk page or at the Wikipedia:Reliable sources/Noticeboard instead.

I want to practice editing before going in live on Wikipedia. Where can I do this and where can I go for help?

Always practise in your sandbox first. If you need assistance, the editors at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine are always very helpful with medical issues, and the Teahouse is a welcoming place for new editors to ask for general advice and help.

I disagree with a recent change to my edit. What should I do next?

Start a discussion in a new section at the bottom of the article talk page, and explain why you think the change did not improve the article.

I want to re-write most of the Wikipedia article as I disagree with the present content. What is the first step?

Work in your sandbox to write up how you think the article should look. Then get some advice from an experienced editor – ask at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine – on how best to transform the current article into your version. It may be better to make one big change or to make a series of small changes, but you'll need experienced help to make that decision.

I do not feel comfortable with a discussion on the talk page. Where do I go for help?

If it's over a medical issue, then ask at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Medicine. For general issues, you'll probably find the Teahouse is a good place to start.

How do I leave a note on a talk page?

Along the tab bar of a talk page, you will see [New section]. Click on that and fill in a brief title for the "Subject/headline". Then write your note in the edit box below that. Finish by signing your note with four tildes (~~~~ which will add your username and a timestamp to your post.