Wikipedia:Cochrane Collaboration/Oral Health Group/Articles

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Wikipedia Oral Health article list

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Possible articles to improve

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Currently being improved

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Completed

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How this project is meant to work

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Editors can work on articles using two different ways. 1. Starting with an article and improving its citations, or 2. starting by selecting a new Cochrane review, and citing it in a relevant article.

1. Starting with an article

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Many Wikipedia oral health related articles, especially start or C-class articles, can benefit greatly from adding or updating references. Checking the state of existing citations is often the best way to go about improving an article. Look to see if existing citations are either a) primary sources or b) secondary sources (textbooks, systematic reviews) that are more than five years old. After you’ve found an article you want to improve, you can search in various places for reliable secondary sources to cite:

  • The Cochrane Library (available in the UK for free)
  • NICE guidelines (in the UK)
  • An up-to-date medical textbook

Find evidence in these sources to support the article text. Paraphrase this information and add a detailed reference for it. The more high quality secondary sources you find, the more you will be able to improve the article.

2. Starting by selecting a new Cochrane review

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The Cochrane Reviews tab is a good place to start. You can order the table by review group, perhaps the one relating to your area of special interest. Once you’re familiar with the contents of the review, you can begin searching Wikipedia for the relevant article. Once you find this article, check to see what state it is in and where, if at all, you might be able to add the citation for this Cochrane review. If it reinforces the existing text, add a citation, if it contradicts or adds to this, add a new sentence presenting the evidence in your own words, and add the citation.

Communicating with other Wikipedia editors

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Using edit summary

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For each edit that you make adding content to a Wikipedia article, you should include an edit summary that describes the changes that you make to the article.

Using an article's talk page

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For both approaches described above, it’s good practice to make the changes you wish to make, then go to the talk page and highlight what you have done and why you have done this. This is your chance to engage in a discussion about the relevance of the information you have added or changed, and the citation you have used. Wikipedia editors differ in their opinion of the relative merits of including and prioritizing Cochrane evidence. On the whole, if it is felt to improve the quality, objectivity, interest, and freshness of the article, it has a good chance of being retained if you give a good explanation.