Is Wikipedia the Public Face of Mass Spectrometry

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WP682 – Presented at the 57th ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics May 31 - June 4, 2009. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Thabiso Musapelo and Kermit K. Murray, Louisiana State University

Contents

Introduction

Wikipedia is a web resource that is described as “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”[2] The low barrier for participation is both one of the best and worst features of the site. The drawbacks of easy participation are the sometimes opinionated, uninformed or simply malicious editors whereas the advantages are fast content creation that is easily accessible and often self-correcting.

Hypothesis: Wikipedia is the most popular source of on-line mass spectrometry information and has the potential to be a source of good information if a sufficiently large number of mass spectromerists become editors.

What is Wikipedia?

Founded less than a decade ago, Wikipedia is now one of the most popular websites and the most popular reference site.

  • Founded in 2001[3]
  • 2.9 M English language articles (13 M total)[4]
  • 7th most popular website (#1 Reference)[5]
  • Used by 9% of global Internet users[6]
  • 684 M visits annually[7]
Wikipedia Growth Plot[1]

Mass Spectrometry on Wikipedia

Top 10 Google Hits for the term Mass Spectrometry (May 2009):

  1. Wikipedia
  2. Michigan State University
  3. American Society for Mass Spectrometry
  4. University of Arizona
  5. Scripps Research Institute
  6. Colby College
  7. Wikimedia Commons
  8. SpectroscopyNow
  9. iMass.com
  10. Virginia Tech

The Wikipedia entry is hit #1 and Wikimedia Commons (diagrams and photographs) is hit #7. ASMS is hit #3 with university courses filling most of the other top spots.

The Wikipedia page Mass Spectrometry had 517,000 views in 2008, more than 1400 hits per day. The dip in the summer and peaks at mid-semester suggests educational use.

Most Wikipedia articles on mass spectrometry are the top Google hit for the article name. Examples are shown in the table below.


Google Rank for Selected Mass Spectrometry Pages (May 2009)
Article Rank
Accelerator mass spectrometry 1
Chemical ionization 1
Collision-induced dissociation 1
Electron ionization 1
Electrospray ionization 1
Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance 1
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry 1
History of mass spectrometry 5
Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry 1
Ion trap 1
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry 1
Mass spectrometry 1
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization 1
Nitrogen rule 1
Penning ionization 1
Quadrupole ion trap 1
Residual gas analyzer 1
Time-of-flight mass spectrometry 4
Triple quadrupole mass spectrometer 2

Conclusion

Wikipedia is a top source of information in our field: Wikipedia is the public face of mass spectrometry.

It is the first source of information on mass spectrometry for the public, government, and other scientific areas.

Corollary: Mass spectrometrists should become Wikipedia editors.


Becoming a Wikipedia Editor

Because Wikipedia is such an important source of mass spectrometry information, participation by the mass spectrometry community should by encouraged both in an organized and ad hoc manner. It should be noted that there are significant barriers to scientists desiring to become Wikipedia editors, but there are also many useful resources.

Barriers

Resources

Recommendations

  • Develop a formal policy on Wikipedia content
    • National organizations (ASMS, BSMS, ANZSMS, etc.)
    • International Mass Spectrometry Foundation
  • Coordinate with relevant committees
    • Education, History, Standards, etc.
    • Encourage participation
    • Evaluate content
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