Wikiversity:Original research

Original research which meets the guidelines of this policy is permitted on Wikiversity. Researchers devoted to scholarly investigation using sound, ethical methods are encouraged to develop and disseminate their work via Wikiversity. Wikiversity may also provide a useful forum for formal peer review.

Main points

Original research is permitted on Wikiversity
It is strongly recommended that original research pages be labeled with the {{Research project}} template so they are easier to find. People looking for research resources would be able to see all pages with this Template if they click on "What links here" in the Template toolbox.
All researchers are obligated to follow the research ethics
Authors of original research should seek and address formal peer review
Additional research guidelines for Wikiversity can be found at Wikiversity:Research guidelines/En
Wikiversity has pages that offer guidance for new researchers, such as Introduction to research and Wikiversity:Research process. We also encourage Users to provide more personalized feedback on others' research.
All proposals, methods, reviews, and results related to original Wikiversity research should also be published on Wikiversity.

Wikiversity is not Wikipedia

Wikipedia does not allow original (primary) research (see Wikipedia:No original research). As described on that page, the policy against including original research in Wikipedia articles arose from the need to prevent cranks from publishing their ideas in wiki format and passing them off as valid knowledge.

The original Wikiversity proposal of 2005 proposed that Wikiversity should,

"test the limits of the wiki model both for developing electronic learning resources as well as for teaching and for conducting research and publishing results (within a policy framework developed by the community)".

The creation of a system for dealing with research and publishing of results in a wiki environment is a major challenge facing the Wikiversity community.

The review process

Original research should be within the scope of Wikiversity, be conducted ethically, and be academically rigorous. Peer review through the research process can help to ensure research integrity.

Within Wikiversity, all original research should be clearly identified as such. Sometimes the boundary between original research and secondary research is not clear. A critical review of previously published ideas can lead to the discovery of a new piece of knowledge. The invariable Rule of Wikiversity is that all such discoveries arising from secondary research (see Synthesis of published material that advances a position) must be subjected to peer review.

The main types of peer review in Wikiversity are:

Casual peer review; This is automatic in the wiki user environment. However, casual peer review can be as dangerous as no peer review.
Peer review from formally trusted Wikiversity members; Formal internal peer review involves a formal system of critical review of the original research result(s). The results of the formal critical review are permanently linked to the original research results and serve as a stamp of validation or a stamp of rejection.
Peer review from external entities; It is possible to have Wikiversity projects peer reviewed from an external entity, such as by trusted experts on a local educational system such as a school. A certification of such peer review can subsequently be uploaded and linked from the corresponding Wikiversity work, and WV:Peer review verification can be performed for additional quality assurance.

Page protection

Since Wikiversity does not prevent participants from crossing the line into original research and since Wikiversity participants are also encouraged to document their personal learning experiences, page protection at Wikiversity is slightly more complex than at Wikipedia. Wikiversity incorporates the page protection system of Wikipedia, but adds an additional element. Registered Wikiversity participants can protect pages that they create from modification by other Wikiversity editors. This allows Wikiversity participants to easily create "archive pages" that will document their own experiences, thoughts, plans and multiple stable versions of documents set aside for study and future reference. Decisions by Wikipedia users to protect pages are always subject to review and reversal by administrators. Pages that a user has created can be marked as protected using the page protection templates.

Research involving other Wikimedia Foundation projects

Research may involve altering other parts of Wikiversity or other Wikimedia Foundation projects in some way. This is permitted, so long as the alterations are not disruptive to the projects in question. In fact, Wikiversity participants are encouraged to constructively utilize the resources offered by the Wikimedia Foundation and identify novel ways to integrate Wikiversity with its sister projects. However, Wikiversity reserves the right to take action against Users who disrupt any part of Wikiversity or use Wikiversity to promote, coordinate, or commemorate disruption of its sister projects, even if this disruption is part of a Wikiversity research project. Such actions include, but are not limited to warnings about misconduct, blocks or bans of the Users in question and deletion of any shrines for vandals.

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