Option a: It's a good time to be thinking about Wikipedia, as #1lib1ref is currently running, as of January 15, through February 3. It's a great entry-point into Wikipedia editing, the focus of the event being finding secondary sources and adding them as citations in order to strengthen the reliability of Wikipedia articles. If you'd like to use this as an opportunity to try your hand at a bit of Wikipedia editing, go ahead, there is plenty of support and instructions on the 1lib1ref home page, here https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/The_Wikipedia_Library/1Lib1Ref
I'm too late for the #1lib1ref, which ended 3 February, might have been a chance to get help to learn how to edit Wikipedia.
So I tried Option b:
This will make use of one of the tools that can help with 1lib1ref, the Citation Hunt tool (available at https://tools.wmflabs.org/citationhunt/en?id=de1d76dd&cat=all ).
I used the Citation Hunt tool, but couldn't find a citation needed that I could supply. I have an appalling lack of interest in factual / historical / biographical reading, and poor specialist knowledge on any given subject that any of the citations threw up. So I went back to my narrow world view, back to a search of Wexford citations needed, and it was still a good while before I found anything on Wikipedia on Wexford that needed a citation that I could supply. Mo náire!! I eventually found a Wikipedia page on Ivan Yates, former Wexford TD, and a citation was needed to support the page's claim that he was born in Enniscorthy. I noticed that his autobiography "Full on: a memoir" was not listed in the references.
This reference satisfies the CRAAP test:
Currency: published in 2014
Relevance: autobiography by Ivan Yates
Authority: written by the subject of the Wikipedia page himself
Accuracy: I would assume that the author would give an accurate account of his life and a book published by a reputable publisher Hachette Ireland should be accurate, and should have employed legal advice to avoid any libel being published.
Purpose: The purpose of the book is for Yates to provide his memoir of his life. Since the citation was needed for his place of birth (Enniscorthy), I could not see what purpose it would serve him to include false information on this point. Also it is a fact that could easily refuted by many, if an error was published.
So I tried to edit the page, to add it as a citation or a reference, but I didn't succeed. I tried the 'talk' page and the 'Ireland portal' to see if I could get some help, but no joy.
To be honest, life is short, and in your article I can understand why it is mostly white males aged 18-30 who are editing Wikipedia. If it wasn't late at night, after a full day's work, and if I had some idea of what I was doing and a page of code didn't look like a plate of spaghetti, I might try to spend some of my scarce free time trying to figure out how to edit Wikipedia pages too! I know it is a valuable cause, but not as valuable as my free time now.
However, I did make a note of Dr. Rebecca O'Neill's contact details in my Evernote, making a new note on Wikipedia editing and a new notebook on Information Technology events, and I might try to organise a workshop on Wikipedia editing for adults and teens over the summer. We have a North Wexford Historical Society that meets in the library, and they are working on recording gravestones online now, so they might be interested in this sort of citizen science / citizen curator type workshop. I have another similar workshop planned for the end of April with Meitheal Logainm - a community placename collection project https://meitheal.logainm.ie/en/for the historical society and for schools.
So I feel worse than "those who can't do, teach, and those who can't teach lecture" - I'm one of those who can do neither, but I can try to set up a workshop in the local library so someone who can do, teach and lecture, can show those who are interested! It makes me feel a little less worthless!
Q. How do you find your own evaluation skills?
A. Weak and unpracticed
Q. Does needing to find rigorous information on your own help to put yourself in the shoes of people you might be helping in your work?
A. Yes, but I am rarely asked for information sources for projects. Most of our enquiries are for books for recreational purposes - fiction and non-fiction reading for pleasure, so as long as we can find the author and title and source the book, that it often the extent of our work.
Q. Does going through this kind of exercise make you feel better equipped to talk others through the need for a critical or evaluative approach to information -- and how one might take such an approach?
A. Yes, it helps make me aware of critically evaluating information and information sources - even if only using the simple CRAAP test.
ENDS
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