Help:Frequently Asked Questions
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General FAQs
What is WikiVet?
WikiVet is a collaborative initiative involving UK veterinary schools. The project is creating a comprehensive online knowledge base which covers the entire veterinary curriculum. This will provide a reliable reference source to supersede Wikipedia for veterinary students, nurses and graduates anywhere in the world.
Who is WikiVet intended for?
Our primary user base we feel is students of the veterinary sciences as we are actively trying to cover all aspects of the veterinary curriculum in our content. As the site grows we hope that professionals will also use the site to gain quick access to veterinary information.
Who is responsible for the content on WikiVet?
Essentially the users of the site are responsible for the content. We hope that only veterinary professionals will be added to the site and once a new page or edit has been performed the page will be flagged up with the following:
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This article has been peer reviewed but is awaiting expert review. If you would like to help with this, please see more information about expert reviewing. |
We hope that this will ensure that users are made aware of these pages and can use the own judgement on the validity of the page until the page has been reviewed.
Who owns the content of WikiVet?
Content on the Medpedia site is freely available for reuse under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Who governs activity in WikiVet?
Initially, WikiVet Project staff and a few volunteers will oversee activity on the site. Over time, as the community of Editors grows, a hierarchy of volunteer administrators will take over the day-to-day governance and policy setting of the WikiVet community.
Who can contribute to the content on WikiVet?
Anyone. Anyone who signs on to the site can add content to the pages. We hope though that our log in process will discourage members of the public from joining and that the site remains essentially a veterinary community.
Will WikiVet expand to include languages other than English?
Yes, we have already started developing a Spanish version of WikiVet. This can be found here here. We are in discussions about starting a French version of the site. If you feel you can help with any further development please contact the admin team.
How is WikiVet supported?
The project is currently being supported by the Higher Education Academy and JISC funding. We are looking into co-ordinating sponsorship of pages. If you have any interest in helping to support the project please contact the admin team.
Content FAQs
How reliable is the content on WikiVet?
All the pages on the site will eventually be reviewed by a specialist, on a said pages subject, at one of the Veterinary Schools involved in the development of the site. These schools are namely; The Royal Veterinary College, Cambridge University, Nottingham University and The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. Until the pages are reviewed a flag will be place on the page that that it has not yet been peer-reviewed. The pages will be authored by vet students as well as veterinary professionals so we hope that the pages will be as reliable as possible but until a page is peer-reviewed we can never 100% guarantee the reliability of the content on a page. If you have an issues with certain pages please either leave your comments on the Feedback page or email the admin team.
How often are WikiVet pages updated?
Given the nature of the project of the project there is no schedule for updates and improvements on pages. We hope that eventually thousands of people in the veterinary community will be involved with the project and so will update the pages themselves on a regular basis. In the interim we will aim to update the current the stub pages as soon as possible and then keep the most popular pages as updated as possible.
How is WikiVet different from other veterinary information websites?
WikiVet has been designed and made by both Veterinary Students and Professionals. We hope that the site grows in this way and that we have the must update thoughts and information on all things veterinary. The future structure of the site will also encourage learning as we are currently developing the use of flashcards and interactive clinical cases. In this way it will be both an information resource for the entire profession but an invaluable learning resource for students world-wide.
How is WikiVet different from Wikipedia?
WikiVet has been created in a similar way to it’s big brother Wikipedia. However there are three distinct differences between the two systems. Firstly all the content relates specifically to the veterinary curriculum. Secondly all the content has been authored by vets and students and is peer reviewed by subject specialists at one of the participating veterinary schools. Finally access to the site is restricted to the veterinary community in order to ensure that the general public are not able to view or edit the content.
How can I contact WikiVet?
For questions not answered here or for general comments and inquiries about the site either email the admin team or leave a message for us on the Feedback page.