Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Improving computational biology Wikipedia articles and closing the knowledge gap between English and Spanish Wikipedias (ID: 22989888)
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Applicant Details
[edit]- Main Wikimedia username. (required)
propicee
- Organization
International Society for Computational Biology
- If you are a group or organization leader, board member, president, executive director, or staff member at any Wikimedia group, affiliate, or Wikimedia Foundation, you are required to self-identify and present all roles. (required)
N/A
- Describe all relevant roles with the name of the group or organization and description of the role. (required)
Main Proposal
[edit]- 1. Please state the title of your proposal. This will also be the Meta-Wiki page title.
Improving computational biology Wikipedia articles and closing the knowledge gap between English and Spanish Wikipedias
- 2. and 3. Proposed start and end dates for the proposal.
2025-04-14 - 2025-07-31
- 4. Where will this proposal be implemented? (required)
International (more than one country across continents or regions) México USA UK
- 5. Are your activities part of a Wikimedia movement campaign, project, or event? If so, please select the relevant project or campaign. (required)
Other (please specify) We are part of the Computational Biology taskforce of WikiProject Molecular Biology
- 6. What is the change you are trying to bring? What are the main challenges or problems you are trying to solve? Describe this change or challenges, as well as main approaches to achieve it. (required)
The ISCB Wikipedia Committee aims to improve and expand Wikipedia content related to bioinformatics and computational biology, making high-quality scientific knowledge accessible to the global community. Computational biology evolves rapidly, with innovations like AlphaFold for protein structure prediction and advances in genomics. Bringing these breakthroughs to the public through Wikipedia requires expert contributions. The Computational Biology Taskforce of WikiProject Molecular Biology has identified more than 1,500 key articles, forming a foundation for the International Society of Computational Biology ( ISCB ) community involvement. Our goal is to improve English Wikipedia by engaging domain experts while enhancing Spanish Wikipedia to provide quality resources for Latin American students. We aim to improve English Wikipedia articles relating to computational biology, by engaging experts in the field. Simultaneously, we aim to enhance relevant articles in Spanish Wikipedia, in order to provide high-quality open educational resources for Latin American computational biology students who currently lack access to Wikipedia’s computational biology content in their native language. By organizing editathons in the USA, Mexico, and Liverpool, we foster collaboration between experts and students, ensuring accurate, accessible content. Our two aims reinforce each other, as contributions in one language inspire improvements in the other. This initiative builds a sustainable community of computational biologists committed to open knowledge, bridging linguistic and educational gaps while increasing the global reach of scientific information. We chose this approach because Wikipedia is one of the most widely used open-access knowledge platforms, making it an effective tool for disseminating accurate Computational Biology content globally. Editathons have proven their success through 15 years of ISCB’s annual Wikipedia competition. Past collaborations between ISCB and Wikipedia have improved hundreds of key articles, such as ‘Pangenome’ in English Wikipedia and ‘Metabarcoding’, which previously did not exist in Spanish Wikipedia. These collaborations demonstrate that expert engagement significantly enhances content quality. We believe in the power of communities and foster a network of computational biologists committed to creating sustainable, long-term improvements.
- 7. What are the planned activities? (required) Please provide a list of main activities. You can also add a link to the public page for your project where details about your project can be found. Alternatively, you can upload a timeline document. When the activities include partnerships, include details about your partners and planned partnerships.
We proposed to join forces with researchers, students (from advanced undergraduates to PhDs), and experienced Wikipedia editors as we:
Upgrade existing articles with up-to-date bioinformatics insights
Create new entries on critical topics that deserve recognition
Fortify existing articles with citations to high-impact, peer-reviewed sources
Identify new articles that need to be improved.
We propose a series of virtual meetings and three editathons to achieve four key goals: two classroom-based editathons and one international editathon at the ISCB annual meeting. Each event will include an introductory session for newcomers, covering Wikipedia editing policies and best practices. Currently, the annual ISCB Wikipedia competition for Computational Biology students is active, with multiple teams already editing articles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Molecular_Biology/Computational_Biology/14th_ISCB_Student_Wikipedia_competition_announcement). To support them, we will launch Café Wikipedia in March—virtual mentoring sessions for guidance and collaboration. On April 23, two classroom-based editathons will take place, one directed by Lonnie Welch in Ohio University and one by Nelly Selem in the National Autonomous University of México, where students will work in teams to improve selected articles. Finally, on July 20, during the ISCB annual meeting in Liverpool, we will hold an editathon to further engage ISCB members, improve key articles, and identify high-priority topics for future editing. As part of the ISCB Wikipedia Committee’s volunteer efforts, we have already created a prioritized list of Computational Biology articles that are missing in other languages (https://compbio-on-wiki.toolforge.org/). We believe editathons are effective because we have measured their impact. For example, during the ISCB-Latin America SoIBio CCBCOL Conference on Bioinformatics (ISCB-LATAM) at Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia, in November 2024, we held our most recent editathon. This event began six months earlier with virtual Café Wikipedia meetings and resulted in the creation of 10 new articles on Spanish Wikipedia. Together, these contributions totaled approximately 160,000 characters, with top visited articles metabarcoding and FASTQ format in Spanish Wikipedia receiving an average of 3 and 6 daily visits, respectively. We have success stories in English and other languages, supported by the ISCB annual Wikipedia competition, which has been running for 15 years. With this experience, we aim to scale our efforts and arrive in Liverpool fully prepared to engage a larger sector of our community.
- 8. Describe your team. Please provide their roles, Wikimedia Usernames and other details. (required) Include more details of the team, including their roles, usernames, Wikimedia group, and whether they are salaried, volunteers, consultants/contractors, etc. Team members involved in the grant application need to be aware of their involvement in the project.
The team includes the ISCB Wikipedia Committee and students, the roles are divided into editing facilitators, communicators, instructional designers, and general organizers, all actively working in the field of computational biology. The event was promoted via social media, academic conferences, via email to ISCB Regional Student Groups (RSGs) and ISCB members. A volunteer committee began organizational preparations three months before the Liverpool event.
Volunteer Farzana () General organizer
Volunteer Lonnie (Lwbioinformatics) General organizer
Volunteer Nelly (NellySelem) Selecting relevant articles
Volunteer Alastair (Amkilpatrick) Selecting relevant articles
Volunteer Abel (fabel134) editing facilitator
Volunteer Tulay (Tkarakulak) communicator
Volunteer Evelia (EveliaCoss) communicator
Volunteer Audra (Hilterbrana) Instructional Designer
- 9. Who are the target participants and from which community? How will you engage participants before and during the activities? How will you follow up with participants after the activities? (required)
Participant Engagement Process Flow for the Editathon 1. Participant Identification and Target Audience The participants will be drawn from diverse academic backgrounds and varying levels of expertise. The primary target audience includes: PhD students Research Master’s students Postdoctoral fellows Advanced undergraduate students All participants will have a shared interest in computational biology and bioinformatics, either as current researchers or aspiring professionals. 2. Pre-Sessional Engagement (Preparation Phase) Virtual Briefing Session: Participants will be invited to attend a pre-sessional virtual briefing led by the organisers. Overview and Instructions: The organisers will provide clear guidance on the editathon structure, expectations, and deliverables. Networking and Group Formation: The session will facilitate interactions among participants, enabling them to introduce themselves and form collaborative groups in advance. 3. Engagement During the Editathon (Execution Phase) Collaborative Work: Participants will actively contribute within their chosen or pre-formed groups to complete the editathon tasks. Real-Time Organiser Support: The organisers will be available throughout the event to provide mentorship, technical assistance, and guidance to ensure participants meet the expected standards of the editathon. Progress Tracking: Organisers will monitor group engagement and contributions to assess quality and impact. 4. Post-Editathon Engagement (Follow-up Phase) Certification: Upon completion of the editathon, all participants will receive certificates of attendance issued by the organisers. Evaluation and Recognition: Since the editathon will be judged post-event, the winning teams will be notified via email and awarded their respective prizes. Sustained Engagement: Participants will be encouraged to stay connected for future collaborative opportunities and knowledge-sharing initiatives within the computational biology and bioinformatics community. This structured approach ensures a seamless engagement process, fostering an inclusive, collaborative, and rewarding experience for all participants.
- 10. Does your project involve work with children or youth? (required)
No
- 10.1. Please provide a link to your Youth Safety Policy. (required) If the proposal indicates direct contact with children or youth, you are required to outline compliance with international and local laws for working with children and youth, and provide a youth safety policy aligned with these laws. Read more here.
N/A
- 11. How did you discuss the idea of your project with your community members and/or any relevant groups? Please describe steps taken and provide links to any on-wiki community discussion(s) about the proposal. (required) You need to inform the community and/or group, discuss the project with them, and involve them in planning this proposal. You also need to align the activities with other projects happening in the planned area of implementation to ensure collaboration within the community.
The organisers have actively engaged in discussions on organising the Editathon within their respective institutions, including Ohio University and UNAM, Mexico. These discussions have been instrumental in aligning institutional goals with the broader objectives of the event. Additionally, the organisers have been contributing to academic discourse on this topic through journal publications over the past few years. This scholarly engagement has provided a strong theoretical foundation for the Editathon, ensuring that its objectives align with current advancements in computational biology and bioinformatics education. Furthermore, an educational framework paper detailing best practices for bioinformatics education and training has been developed and is currently under review for ISMB 2025 proceedings. This paper outlines innovative pedagogical strategies, many of which will be incorporated into the Editathon to enhance participant learning outcomes.
- 12. Does your proposal aim to work to bridge any of the content knowledge gaps (Knowledge Inequity)? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Other Important Topics (topics considered to be of impact or important in the specific context)
- 13. Does your proposal include any of these areas or thematic focus? Select one option that most applies to your work. (required)
Education
- 14. Will your work focus on involving participants from any underrepresented communities? Select one option that most apply to your work. (required)
Linguistic / Language
- 15. In what ways do you think your proposal most contributes to the Movement Strategy 2030 recommendations. Select one that most applies. (required)
Identify Topics for Impact
Learning and metrics
[edit]- 17. What do you hope to learn from your work in this project or proposal? (required)
1. How will participating in a Wikipedia editathon contribute to an editor’s identity as a co-creator of open education resources? 2. Will participation in targeted editing events highlight the need for (and current knowledge gap in) scientific Wikipedia articles in native (non-English) languages? 3. What subject-matter learning gains will participants report after editing relevant articles? 4. How can Wikipedia editathons act as meeting points and discussion spaces for participants from diverse backgrounds? 5. How can a Wikipedia ediathon contribute to learning and assessment activities in classroom environments?
- 18. What are your Wikimedia project targets in numbers (metrics)? (required)
| Other Metrics | Target | Optional description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of participants | 100 | New participant: 75 (50 virtual, 25 in person)
Returning participant: 25 (10 virtual, 15 in person) |
| Number of editors | 45 | new editors: 25
Returning editors: 25 Participants will register on this website and improve computational Biology articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Molecular_Biology/Computational_Biology/14th_ISCB_Wikipedia_competition_entries |
| Number of organizers | 10 | We have 5 members of the ISCB Wikipedia committee + 5 ISCB volunteers
Farzana (propicee) General organizer Lonnie (Lwbioinformatics) General organizer and teacher Nelly (NellySelem) Selecting relevant articles and teacher Alastair (Amkilpatrick) Selecting relevant articles Tulay (Tkarakulak) communicator Volunteer Abel (fabel134) editing facilitator Volunteer Evelia (EveliaCoss) communicator Volunteer Audra (Hilterbrana) Instructional Designer Volunteer Anton Pashkov editing facilitator Volunteer Rafael Perez editing facilitator |
| Wikimedia project | Number of content created or improved |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | 30 |
| Wikimedia Commons | 30 |
| Wikidata | |
| Wiktionary | |
| Wikisource | |
| Wikimedia Incubator | |
| Translatewiki | |
| MediaWiki | |
| Wikiquote | |
| Wikivoyage | |
| Wikibooks | |
| Wikiversity | |
| Wikinews | |
| Wikispecies | |
| Wikifunctions or Abstract Wikipedia |
- Optional description for content contributions.
We will improve computational biology articles in English Wikipedia and create and improve computational biology articles in Spanish Wikipedia and, hopefully, in other languages, Wikipedias.
- 19. Do you have any other project targets in numbers (metrics)? (optional)
Yes
| Main Open Metrics | Description | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Number of characters | We will provide the number of characters of the articles created and improved. We aim to add 20,000 characters in at least 10 articles. | 20000 |
| References in Spanish | References outside of English are difficult to find, we aim to add Computational Biology Spanish references to at least 10 articles | 10 |
| Number of visits | We wish to improve/ create high-impact articles in Computational Biology. We aimed to have 10 articles with a combined average of 5 views daily. | N/A |
| Quality rubric | We will provide judges' scores based on the quality of writing, depth of content, and quality of figures of articles that join the ISCB annual contest with our rubric form https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-eTiAWqOgF0M821VsXzNfHnDOybQq2ZyG-zMRNL6qqYEa4g/viewform | N/A |
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
- 20. What tools would you use to measure each metrics? Please refer to the guide for a list of tools. You can also write that you are not sure and need support. (required)
Xtool and pageviews available at articles history
Financial proposal
[edit]- 21. Please upload your budget for this proposal or indicate the link to it. (required)
- 22. and 22.1. What is the amount you are requesting for this proposal? Please provide the amount in your local currency. (required)
3575 USD
- 22.2. Convert the amount requested into USD using the Oanda converter. This is done only to help you assess the USD equivalent of the requested amount. Your request should be between 500 - 5,000 USD.
3575 USD
- We/I have read the Application Privacy Statement, WMF Friendly Space Policy and Universal Code of Conduct.
Yes
Endorsements and Feedback
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Community members are invited to share meaningful feedback on the proposal and include reasons why they endorse the proposal. Consider the following:
- Stating why the proposal is important for the communities involved and why they think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected.
- Highlighting any aspects they think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc.
- Highlighting if the proposal focuses on any interesting research, learning or innovation, etc. Also if it builds on learning from past proposals developed by the individual or organization, or other Wikimedia communities.
- Analyzing if the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy.
- Analysing if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget, and expected results (metrics).