Research Wikis

Harness the collective wisdom of your group…

Instant revision. The blurring of reader, writer, and editor roles. Authorship without ego. Constant flux.

Wikis elevate the interactive potential of Internet communication beyond clicking a link and reading a page, making it possible for communities of users to collaboratively create, connect, and revise Web pages on an on-going basis. Because wikis use simplified hypertext markup language, very little technical know-how is required to create Web pages. And depending on how the wiki is set up, anybody can read and edit, or those privileges can be limited to a group of authorized users.

What is a TDL Research Wiki?

The Texas Digital Library offers scholars and researchers at TDL member institutions the opportunity to set up their own Research Wikis, hosted by the TDL, to share knowledge and collaborate in any of the myriad ways wikis allow.

Because of the flexible, user-defined nature of wikis, the number of possible uses for the technology is limited only by users’ imaginations. For example, wikis can be used to:

  • Manage a research project that requires collaboration among far-flung participants
  • Collaboratively create a knowledge base for any topic or project
  • Create internal documentation for a product or project
  • Manage and organize conference notes and agendas
  • Publish documents or research that is managed by groups of people
  • Create annotated reading lists
  • Create informal bulletin boards
  • Maintain lists and link libraries
  • Create collaboratively edited online books

TDL Research Wikis use MediaWiki software, the same platform that the world’s best-known wiki – Wikipedia – is based on. MediaWiki is a powerful platform for creating wikis that does not require technical expertise in XHTML or Web design, and it stores previous versions of pages after edits have been made, so that you can avoid permanent damage to your site in case of vandalism or spamming.

The Texas Digital Library staff hosts and maintains the MediaWiki software, while you have control over how your Research Wiki is set up and used. With TDL Research Wikis, you also can take advantage of other TDL faculty communication services, including faculty home pages, Scholarly Blogs, and peer-reviewed Electronic Journals.

How do I get my own wiki?

To get started with a Research Wiki from the Texas Digital Library, you must be a faculty member at a TDL member institution. If you are qualified to participate, you can set up a wiki by accessing the TDL Service Request System.

Any institution of higher learning in Texas may become a member of the Texas Digital Library consortium. To find out more about institutional membership opportunities, please see the Membership section of our Web site.

Where do I go with questions?

Please visit the the MediaWiki site for additional help. You may also contact the TDL team.