This page provides essential resources to help you get started with Wikidata, including courses, documentation, and video tutorials. It is specifically designed with the cultural heritage sector (institutional data managers, researchers, students etc) in mind.

We've included two different approaches to training. One option is full, long-form beginner trainings that cover a broad range of content in a single resource. The other option is a modular curriculum that breaks down the material into smaller, manageable sections. With this modular approach, you can pick up or revisit specific resources at your own pace, allowing you to choose the learning style and depth that best suits your needs.

Each resource includes a link, description, and overview of the topics covered. We have also provided options to suit different learning styles.

Learning Modes:

Step-by-step: A tutorial that guides you through every click.
Self-learner: A detailed tutorial encouraging exploration and independent discovery within Wikidata.
Informational: A tutorial video focused on providing information rather than hands-on exercises.

Longform beginners introductions

Wikidata Training (Outreach Dashboard) [EN] This is a self-learner course that covers all the Wikidata basics in small increments, including short quizzes at the end of each section.	Topics covered: create user account; edit user account; editing items; improve institution's QID; Sandbox; adding references; notability; linking images from wikimedia commons; statements; properties; references; qualifiers; external identifiers; notability; wikiprojects; mindset; searching; rank Learning mode: self-learner
Library Carpentry Wikidata [EN] Another self-learner course that covers all the Wikidata basics, with clickable exercises.	Topics covered: statements; properties; references; qualifiers; identifiers; mindset; searching Learning mode: self-learner
Wikidata Introduction [EN/DE] Basic documentation page that includes useful links and graphs, first steps in editing Wikidata and also introduces exercises and tools.	Topics covered: explains wikidata; how wikidata works; items; descriptions; Q&P-numbers; identifiers; values; queries; first steps Learning mode: self-learner
Wikidata Tours [EN/DE] Click through wikidata items and learn basic editing.	Topics covered: items; labels; statements; identifiers; adding statements; references; coordinates; images; administrative territory; official website; inception date Learning mode: self-learner/step-by-step
A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata [EN] CAPACOA If you are looking for presentation slides that you can use for self-learning or as a tutorial for explaining Wikidata to your colleagues, this is a good resource.	Topics covered: overview wikimedia family; CC licences; wikidata; triples; statements; glossary; external identifiers; creating an account; gadgets; creating an item; adding statements; geo coordinates; adding images; visualisations Learning mode: self-learner
The Joys of Connecting Your Collections to Wikidata [EN] Andrew Lih, MCN 2020 If you feel up to watching a tutorial on using wikidata within a GLAM context in full length, we can recommend Andrew Lih’s presentation at the MCN 2020.	Topics covered: overview; what is wikidata, items, three part statements, language variation, queries, Q-numbers, knowledgegrapher tool, identifiers, geo coordinates; aliases; notability; SPARQL; modelling Learning mode: self-learner/informational
Wikidata general overview [NL/EN] Olaf Janssen (KB, national library of the Netherlands, 2024) General overview of the Wikidata universe for newcomers to get more familiar and self-reliant in this (sometimes) confusing ecosystem.	Topics covered: What is Wikidata? The principles of Wikidata How things are described in Wikidata How to discover Qs and Ps in Wikidata How to request data from Wikidata How to add data to Wikidata Who creates Wikidata? Wikidata community Tools & Projects How to stay informed Where to find help (passively and actively) Learning mode: self-learner

Modular beginners curriculum

If you’d rather like to focus on single aspects of getting started in Wikidata, we’ve curated a set of resources organised by different topics:

Creating a User Account

Setting up an account	A brief intro to Wikidata and how to set up an account (runtime: 03:30 min) [EN] Wikimedian in Residence, University of Edinburgh, 2020 This is a very basic overview, it tells you where to click but does not provide much background information.	Topics covered: Wikidata home page; creating account; item identifiers; statements; adding statements; properties Learning mode: step-by-step
	A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata (Slides 22-26) [EN] CAPACOA How to create an account and how to set preferences.	Topics covered: creating account; register email address; enable notifications; gadgets Learning mode: self-learner
	Examples of professional wikidata user accounts: User:S.v.Mering User:Klaus_Bulle_DDK_Bildarchiv_Foto_Marburg User:DFichtmueller User:Städel_Museum
Adding Widgets/Gadgets	Wikidata Tutorial: Intro to the basics (01:25-01:27) [EN] Robert Fernandez, LD4, 2022	Topics covered: Finding widgets/gadgets in the user profile plus mentions some useful ones Learning mode: self-learner

Wikidata Explained

Wikidata lingo	The Joys of Connecting Your Collections to Wikidata (41:21-48:49) [EN] Andrew Lih, MCN 2020 This longer segment explains Q&P-numbers, items, properties, values, labels, and searching for/looking up Wikidata pages in a more detailed way.	Topics covered: Q-&P-numbers; items; properties; values; labels; searching Learning mode: self-learner
Wikidata lingo	A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata (Slides 8-18) [EN] CAPACOA These slides cover the key concepts of Wikidata.	Topics covered: triples; statements; item; property; value; inferences; glossary; external identifiers Learning mode: self-learner/informational
Notability	The Joys of Connecting Your Collections to Wikidata (36:13-40:10) [EN] Andrew Lih, MCN 2020 This segment talks about “Wikipedia challenges” and highlights the differences in notability between Wikipedia and Wikidata. It includes more information on Wikipedia vs. Wikidata, but notability is mentioned more than once.	Topics covered: notability; systemic bias; linked open data Learning mode: self-learner/informational
Notability	Wikidata: Notability [EN/DE] This information page tells you everything you need to know about notability in Wikidata in a condensed, precise way and includes links for further information.	Topics covered: notability; sitelinks; structural need Learning mode: self-learner/informational

Basic Editing

Creating a new item	How to add a new item to wikidata (runtime: 02:35) [EN] Wikimedian in Residence, University of Edinburgh, 2020 This is a very basic step-by-step guide on how to search for an item, add a new item and how to add statements to an item.	Topics covered: adding new item; search existing items; statements Learning mode: step-by-step
Creating a new item	A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata (Slides 27-40) [EN] CAPACOA, 2022 Another step-by-step guide on how to search for an item, add a new item and how to add statements (specifically for a cultural venue item) and labels to an item.	Topics covered: creating a new item; editing item; label; alias; description; statements; linking parts of a building; linking venues to organisations; situating venues Learning mode: self-learner/step-by-step
Adding images	How to add an image to Wikidata (runtime: 01:46 min) [EN] Wikimedian in Residence, University of Edinburgh, 2020 Step-by-step guide on how to add a pre-existing image from commons to a pre-existing item on wikidata.	Topics covered: add image from Wikimedia commons to existing item in Wikidata Learning mode: step-by-step
Adding geo coordinates	A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata (Slides 41-48) [EN] CAPACOA, 2022 Explains Open Street Map and how to add geo coordinates to Wikidata items.	Topics covered: geo coordinates; location; references Learning mode: self-learner/step-by-step

Data Modeling/Mapping your data to wikidata

Check if your institution exists/improve your institution’s Q-ID	The Joys of Connecting Your Collections to Wikidata (15:56-18:26) [EN] Andrew Lih, MCN 2020 This is an editing exercise with the original participant‘s institutions Q-ID pages that can easily be transferred to your own institution’s Q-ID page.	Topics covered: editing Q-ID page of an institution Learning mode: self-learner
	A Hands-On Introduction to Wikidata (Slides 49-58) [EN] CAPACOA, 2022 Tutorial on useful statements that can enhance a Wikidata item for a cultural venue.	Topics covered: instance of; labels; geo coordinates; external identifiers Learning mode: self-learner/step-by-step
Where do I find existing models and schemas in wikidata for different kinds of data	What can I do on Wikidata? Examples of projects and workflows (08:12-19:14) [EN] Spinster, Wikidata Levelling Up Days, 2024 How to create an item based on standards described in the WikiProject Public Art.	Topics covered: cultural heritage statements; wikiprojects; data model; adding references; creating item; adding statements; adding image from commons Learning mode: self-learner/step-by-step
	What can I do on Wikidata? Examples of projects and workflows (03:56-08:12) [EN] Ambrosia10, Wikidata Levelling Up Days, 2024 Presentation of the Research Expeditions WikiProject. This is a good introduction if you’re new to wikiprojects.	Topics covered: cultural heritage statements; wikiprojects; project page; model item; property schema; data model; talk page Learning mode: self-learner
	More community wikiprojects focused on different kinds of data (N.B. some are more current and useful than others): WikiCite (journal articles) WikiProject Anime and Manga WikiProject Archival Description WikiProject Artists' Publishing WikiProject Books WikiProject Built heritage WikiProject Cultural events WikiProject Cultural venues WikiProject Digital and Performative Arts WikiProject Exhibitions WikiProject Fashion WikiProject Genealogy WikiProject Heraldry WikiProject Heritage Collections WikiProject Heritage institutions WikiProject Historical Place WikiProject Libraries WikiProject Lighthouses WikiProject Manuscripts WikiProject Maps WikiProject Media Art WikiProject Movies WikiProject Museums WikiProject Music WikiProject Names WikiProject Numismatics WikiProject Performing arts WikiProject Periodicals WikiProject Provenance WikiProject Public art WikiProject Research expeditions WikiProject Sculpture WikiProject sum of all paintings WikiProject Textile arts WikiProject Video games WikiProject Visual arts If you can't find a wikiproject with (up-to-date) documented data models for the kind of data you want to model, try searching for similar items to use as inspiration. Also useful: Help:Dates, Help:Copyright
Ranking statements	Wikidata Tutorial: Intro to the Basics (01:08:27-01:10:17) [EN] Robert Fernandez, LD4, 2022 Short segment on how to rank statements and why this might be done with the example of birth dates.	Topics covered: rank; statements; references; date of birth Learning mode: self-learner/informational

Querying and Visualising wikidata

Wikidata Queries explained	The Joys of Connecting Your Collections to Wikidata (01:12-01:26) [EN] Andrew Lih, MCN 2020 A demonstration of what querying is and several result display options.	Topics covered: Querying, display options (table, map, chart) Learning mode: self-learner
Wikidata Queries explained	How to use the Wikidata Query Service (runtime: 17 min) [EN] Wikimedian in Residence, University of Edinburgh, 2020 A detailed introduction to SPARQL-Queries.	Topics covered: querying; display options; SPARQL; geo coordinates; map Learning mode: self-learner
Demonstrations of query service	Wikidata loves Galleries. Libraries, Archives & Museums (08:50-11:04) [EN] Jason Evans, National Library of Wales at WikiDataCon Berlin 2017 Showcases how adding places to their items makes them displayable on a map. Demonstrates queries for their items and highlights the multilingual aspect of Wikidata through labels.	Topics covered: queries; visualisation; geolocation, multilingual labels Learning mode: informational
Demonstrations of query service	Linking cultural heritage data in practice (09:37-13:24) [EN] National Historical Museums Sweden, 2023 Using queries to search for and visualise collection data.	Topics covered: collection items; visualisation; querying; geolocation, linking collections Learning mode: informational

Useful links

Wikidata One-Pager [EN/DE]
Mentioned in many tutorials, this is a very useful graphic that gathers all the basic information on Wikidata on one page. It also includes links to Wikidata:help pages and some tools for visualisation.
Wikidata: Notability [EN/DE]
This information page tells you everything you need to know about notability in Wikidata in a condensed, precise way and includes links for further information.
Wikidata:Glossary [EN/DE]
This glossary defines important Wikidata concepts and refers to more detailed information.

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