Wikipedia as Public Scholarship: Communicating Our Impact Online

Abstract

To contribute to the forum asking “Has Communication Research Made a Difference?,” this essay examines whether communication scholarship makes a difference (a) to those who search for information online, (b) in the sense that a primary way our research can make a difference is through its accessibility, and (c) by using the criteria of its presence (or absence) on Wikipedia. In this essay, we reason that Wikipedia is a useful benchmark for online accessibility of public scholarship in that it provides immediate, freely available information to today's diverse global public seeking online answers to questions and relief from problems.

Keywords:

• Public Scholarship
• Wikipedia
• Communication Research

Notes

1. This essay is part of a joint Communication Monographs and Journal of Applied Communication Research special project titled, “Has Communication Research Made a Difference?” The other responses to the joint forum can be found in Communication Monographs, Volume 77, Issue 4 and the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Volume 38, Issue 3.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth K. Rush

Elizabeth K. Rush (M.A., Arizona State University, 2010) is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado at Boulder and an Affiliated Research Associate for the Project for Wellness and Work-Life in The Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University

Sarah J. Tracy

Sarah J. Tracy (Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder, 2000) is an Associate Professor, Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, and Director of The Project for Wellness and Work-Life in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University