Scholarpedia a Valuable Resource

May 1, 2012

We’d like to share a useful resource we’ve come across: Scholarpedia.org is a searchable, peer-reviewed online scientific encyclopedia. Its contributors are respected authorities in their fields, including an impressive list of Nobel Laureates and Fields Medalists. The areas covered include: Dynamical Systems, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Computational Neuroscience, and Touch.

Articles are curated by prominent authorities who take responsibility for the contents. As trusted custodians, these shepherds are also able to sponsor new articles.

The format of Scholarpedia should look familiar. The site’s About page explains:

“Scholarpedia feels and looks like Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Indeed, both are powered by the same program — MediaWiki. Both allow visitors to read and modify articles simply by clicking on the edit this article link. However, Scholarpedia differs from Wikipedia in some very important ways.”

Ways like a strict modification approval process, the selection of elite authors, and the curator review system. The statement goes on to emphasize the advantages the online community brings to the traditional scholarly paper:

“. . . Articles are not frozen and outdated, but dynamic, subject to an ongoing process of improvement moderated by their curators. This allows Scholarpedia to be up-to-date, yet maintain the highest quality of content.”

The site is well worth checking out for all you science types.

Cynthia Murrell, May 1, 2012

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