The value of Wikidata for your research

The value of Wikidata for your research

Logo Wikidata
Logo Wikidata

Wikidata is a database that can be edited jointly by the public. Wikidata supports the more than 280 language versions of Wikipedia as a common source of structured data. This data can be used in all the articles of the free encyclopedia and is also free to re-use by other interested parties. With Wikidata it is easy to connect vocabulary and also captures the concept in different languages.

A database - free to use edit

Maintained in one place, ready for use anywhere! For example, a sourced of population data that can be used on all Wikipedia language versions when it is stored in Wikidata. All the data in the database has a CC0 license, which means that the material can be used free of charge and without limitations.

Wikidata has been designed to support both the community that creates Wikipedia and the use by third parties who want to use a large amount of curated data. For example, amounts of aggregated data from research projects can be included in Wikidata and linked with data from other organisations. The information can be sourced so that it is clear which research projects contributed the information, and to ensure the quality.

Wikidata then makes it easy to include aggregated research data on the various Wikipedia versions. Wikidata effectively reduces the maintenance burden when all data is maintained in one place. Practical lists and timelines can be created automatically, instead of having to manually update. Being able to rely on data collected by a much larger community raises the quality and saves a lot of work for volunteers who contribute to Wikipedias in small languages.

It's never been easier to spread your knowledge to the world.

Development and opportunity to support edit

The initial development of Wikidata was led by Wikimedia Deutschland, the German local association of the Wikimedia movement. Funding was provided by the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence [AI]², Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Google Inc. Wikidata was then passed to the Wikimedia Foundation for further development and maintenance. Wikimedia is here to help your organisation if you are thinking of how you can use Wikidata.

What you can bring to Wikidata edit

  • Share relevant research data with the public by adding it to Wikidata. This gives you greater visibility and outreach to a large audience. This is in line with the requirements of open access, which is asked for more and more with research funding.
  • Source meta statements in areas where you are authoritative, which is a way to increase your visibility and use of your research. Increased visibility of your research increases the chance to research funding, strengthen research in your field and makes it easier for the interested public and poorer research institutions around the world to conduct their research.
  • Researchers from diverse disciplines can collaborate and share additional data on Wikidata.
  • Wikimedia can help you with more effective research communication through Wikidata.

What you can use to Wikidata for edit

  • Using Wikidata as semantic hub to make connections between disparate databases.
  • Quickly and easily find information from other research projects (within or outside their own field) who have contributed to a subject.
  • Reuse and update your own databases with improved meta data from Wikidata. For example, translations of descriptions or keywords.
  • Explore the structured data available on Wikidata to get ideas for new hypotheses based on multiple layers of data. For example, if there is any correlation between the degree of obesity in people aged 25-40 years and the number of schools within the city limits?
  • Research on the information available at Wikipedia's many language versions. For example, if Wikipedia's biographical articles have a gender bias? Does this differ between versions?