How to use Wikipedia for research
If you have come to this guide you will surely want to know how to use Wikipedia for research: it is such a simple operation to do that there would be no need to explain it to you. All you have to do to do it, in fact, is to connect to the main page of Wikipedia or start its app for Android or iOS, write the term you want to find in the search bar high post and give Submit (if you are using the computer) or press the button Search (if you are using a mobile device).
At this point, if the item you searched for is available on Wikipedia, you can read the page dedicated to it. To facilitate the consultation of the entries, Wikipedia has inserted a index containing i link to the various chapters available: open the one you are interested in, consult and read it (if you don't want to read the whole page dedicated to the item you searched for).
In some cases, it may happen that you are not sent directly to the page dedicated to an item, but to one disambiguation page: this happens when looking for a term that can have multiple meanings. On these occasions, to get to the correct page, you need to locate the voice of your interest in the list of results that were found and open the link interests you. Have you seen how simple it is to search Wikipedia?
How to write a new entry on Wikipedia
You wish to contribute to the development of Wikipedia writing a new entry in the famous online encyclopedia? No problem, it's very simple. Mandatory registration is not even required, however this helps a lot, as it allows you to practice on a personal test page (unregistered users can practice on a public test page, which can be edited by anyone, so it's not the best. ).
I also point out that it is possible to create a new entry only by acting from the Web version of Wikipedia and not through the official app for smartphones and tablets. That said, if you want to register with Wikipedia, all you have to do is connect to the encyclopedia site, click on the item Subscribe located at the top right, enter your details in the text fields Username, Password e Email address (optional), type the security code that is shown on the screen in the appropriate field and click on the blue button Create your user account, in order to complete the operation.
Before writing a new entry, I recommend that you search for it on Wikipedia, in order to make sure that the topic in question has not yet been dealt with: if the topic is actually new in the encyclopedia, you will see the wording Create the page “[page name]” on this project. By clicking on the wording in question, the editor will start to create the page.
Alternatively, if you are reading an existing entry and you find a term written in red, obviously there are no further links to an existing page on Wikipedia. If you want to contribute by writing a page about the item in question, click on the link and, automatically, the editor will open to add the new item to the encyclopedia.
If you want, you can also check the existence of an entry on Wikipedia via its URL: just type in the URL https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/nomedellapagina in address bar of the browser you are using and give Submit. If the wording appears Wikipedia in the In your lenguagen language does not yet have an entry with this name, you can create the page and write the missing entry by clicking on the link click here, placed next to the wording To create your page.
Then use theeditor available in Wikipedia (I recommend you use that view, since it is easier to use) to create the new page, format the text, insert links, images, etc. More info here.
Please note: before writing and publishing an entry on Wikipedia, make sure you have read and understood the guidelines of the encyclopedia to avoid making mistakes and running into problems of various kinds. You may also find it useful to read the in-depth study in which I explain how to create a page on Wikipedia.
How to edit a Wikipedia entry
Have you noticed that an entry on Wikipedia needs to be corrected or updated? If so, know you can modify an existing entry quite simply. All you have to do is click on the item Modification o Modify wikitesto and edit the page in source or visual mode.
Once you have completed the review and modification of the page, click on the button Publish your changes, describe the changes made using the text field Describe what you have changed and click the button again Publish your changes per portare to finish l'operazione.
A procedure similar to the one just described can also be performed from the Wikipedia app for Android and iOS: just press the symbol of pencil next to the item to be changed and, after making the changes to the text, press on the item Following at the top right (twice in a row). Once this is done, the question must be answered How did you improve your voice? specifying the changes made and finally pressing tap on the item Public. Semplice, see?
How to use images on Wikipedia
You would like to have clarifications regarding how to use images on Wikipedia, maybe because you want to know if you can use an image from the encyclopedia and reuse it on your website or because you want to know what aspects to take into account before uploading a photo on it?
As for the reuse of images on Wikipedia, I tell you right away that this can only happen for images that are not protected by copyright (therefore those copyright free). To check whether an image on Wikipedia is protected by copyright or not, all you have to do is click on it, so as to view it in full screen (and eventually click on the symbol [I]), and check the terms related to reuse rights.
In some cases, the images are usable freely (when these are public domain), in other cases they can be used as long as the author's name is specified via a credit note (usually this must be done when they are licensed Creative Commons), in still other cases the images are protected by copyright and, therefore, not usable (unless otherwise indicated by the author of the photo itself).
If, on the other hand, you want to upload images to Wikipedia, you must make sure that the latter are not protected by copyright. For this purpose it may be useful to search for images in portals such as Pixabay and OpenPhoto, as I have already explained to you in my guide on how to know if an image is protected by copyright. I also advise you to deepen the topic by reading the guidelines that you find on this Wikipedia support page.
How to use Wikipedia
