Listed below are some brief introductions containing all the basics you need to use, comment on, and edit Wikipedia. For the main article on how and where you can help, see contributing to Wikipedia. |
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Note: You can use the sandbox to experiment with page editing.
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As a new contributor, you may feel a little overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of this project. Don't worry too much if you don't understand everything at first, as it is acceptable to use common sense as you go about editing. We encourage you to be bold in a fair and accurate manner.
The community portal is a central location to find collaborations, tasks, and news about Wikipedia. To find internal project pages of interest, see the department directory. If you do get stuck, there are volunteers available to answer your questions, see asking for help for more information.
Tutorials
- Wikipedia:Tutorial: an eight part tutorial to becoming a Wikipedian.
- Editing: introducing editing.
- Formatting: how to format pages.
- Links: how to insert links.
- Citing sources: how to create footnotes and external links.
- Talk pages: how to use talk pages.
- Keep in mind: introducing policies and guidelines.
- Registration: why you should register an account.
- Wrap-up and more info: some useful links.
- Tutorials from The Signpost. Click the 'Next Tutorial' link at the bottom for the next one.
Longer tutorials
- The Wikipedia Adventure: a guided tour with fun, interactive learning and practice
- Pictures tutorial: how to insert pictures in pages. A long tutorial, but the basics are simple.
- IRC tutorial: how to use Internet Relay Chat on Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia:Graphics tutorials: lots of links to graphics software tutorials.
- VisualEditor user guide: an manual for Wikipedia:VisualEditor.
Introductions
- Main introduction: the main introduction to Wikipedia, with many useful links.
- Introduction to navigating Wikipedia: a five part guide to navigating Wikipedia. Introduction. Namespaces. Searching and redirects. Useful pages. Summary.
Protocols and conventions
- Introduction to policies and guidelines: a four part guide to the rules. Policies and guidelines. Content. Conduct. Summary.
- Introduction to the Manual of Style: a five part introduction to the Manual of Style. Links. Layout. Images. Citing. Consistency. Stability. Nuggets.
- Introduction to the deletion process - discusses the guidelines and policies relevant to deletion, and the overall process.
Editing with Wiki Markup
- Introduction to editing: a five part guide to editing. Editing pages. Formatting. Links and Wikilinks. Saving your changes. Summary.
- Introduction to referencing: a five part introduction to referencing. Verifiability. Inline citations. RefToolbar. Reliable sources. Summary
- Introduction to uploading images: a six part guide on uploading images. Introduction. Free content. Non-free content. Wikimedia Commons. Using an image. Summary.
- Introduction to tables: a four part guide to putting tables in pages. Introduction to tables. Creating tables manually. Sortable tables. HTML and tables.
- Introduction to talk pages: a five part guide to using talk pages. Talk pages. User talk pages. Layout. Examples. Summary.
Editing with Visual Editor
- Introduction to editing with VisualEditor: a five part introduction to editing with VisualEditor. Opening the editor. Toolbar basics. Links and Wikilinks. Saving your changes. Summary
- Introduction to referencing with VisualEditor: a five part introduction to referencing. Verifiability. Inline citations. RefToolbar. Reliable sources. Summary.
- Introduction to uploading images with VisualEditor: a six part guide on uploading images. Introduction. Free content. Non-free content. Wikimedia Commons. Using an image. Summary
Training for student assignments
These self-guided trainings help users involved with student assignments to learn the basics of Wikipedia.
- Training for students: students start here! A four-part, 57-page, training intended for students doing assignments on Wikipedia, with more detailed introductions to core Wikipedia policies, editing basics, and more specific editing advice for students. Welcome (4 pages). The Core (14 pages). Editing (24 pages). Advanced and background (15 pages).
- Training for educators: educators start here! A five-part, 97-page, training for professors and other educators who want to run Wikipedia assignments for class, with introductions to core Wikipedia policies, editing basics, and an overview of best practices for designing and implementing Wikipedia assignments.
- Training for Wikipedia Ambassadors: Ambassadors start here! A four-part, 86-page, training for Wikipedia Campus and Online Ambassadors, with introductions to core policies and editing basics for those new to editing and an overview of best practices for Wikipedia assignments.
Guides
- Plain and simple: the basic mechanics of Wikipedia. There are similar guides for:
- Plain and simple conflict of interest guide: for editors with a conflict of interests.
- Plain and simple guide for medical editors: for editing medical subjects.
- Plain and simple non-free content guide - discusses how Wikipedia's copyright guidelines are probably the most complicated part of the whole site and breaks down what the rules are and what they mean.
Quick guides
- Edit toolbar: how to use the edit toolbar while editing.
- Media help: how to get media to work on your computer.
- Citations quick reference: a quick guide to using citations.
- Wikitext cheatsheet: a quick guide to wikitext.
Overviews
- 8 simple rules for editing our encyclopedia: describes some basics about contributing and interactions with others.
- 10 Simple Rules for Editing Wikipedia: discusses some basic aspect of Wikipedia norms and practices.
- A primer for newcomers: an overview intended for new contributors.
- Avoiding common mistakes: discusses a few common mistakes everyone should try to avoid.
- Expectations and norms of the community: discusses the general social norms that Wikipedia editors are expected to follow.
- Everything you need to know: a quick overview of some of Wikipedia's most important policies.
- Learning the ropes: discusses how to learn about Wikipedia.
- Your first article: discusses some of the DOs and DON'Ts, then show you how to create an article.
Books and videos
- The Missing Manual: a comprehensive how-to book that explains everything about contributing for novice to expert editors.
- Wikipedia instructional material for a listing of screencasts, videos and books.
- The Bookshelf - A vast collection of high-quality, freely licensed, user-generated informational material about Wikipedia.
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| Editing Wikipedia | Illustrating Wikipedia | Evaluating Wikipedia |
Help resources and assistance
- There is the Help Menu and Help Directory for a listing of help related pages.
- Wikipedia:Directory: a descriptive list of Wikipedia's directories and indexes.
- Wikipedia:FAQ index: for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
- Wikipedia:Questions: discusses how to ask questions on Wikipedia.
- Wikipedia:Tips: how to use Wikipedia in bite-sized morsels.
- Wikipedia:Dos and don'ts: summarize some of Wikipedia's protocols in a bullet-point format.
- Category:Wikipedia information pages and Category:Wikipedia how-to are the main subcategories listing help pages.
Mental health[edit]
Main article: Abortion and mental health
Mental health
Abortion is statistically associated with higher rates of mental illness,[1][2] both in general and relative to women who carry unplanned pregnancies to term.[3] While there is also agreement that negative emotions are common after an abortion, and that abortion can contribute to pre-existing mental health issues, the primary dispute is over when, if ever, abortion is the sole cause of subsequent mental health issues.[1] For example, the 2008 report by the American Psychological Association Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion concluded that while while some women "experience clinically significant disorders, including depression and anxiety"[4] the most likely explanation for the higher rates of mental illness observed among women who abort are pre-existing risk factors, including prior mental health problems. Subsequent research, however, has revealed that the higher rates of mental health issues seen among women who have abortions cannot be fully explained by prior mental health issues, and that there is also a dose effect, with each abortion contributing to increased risk.[1][2][3]
The APA report identified fourteen risk factors that predict greater risk of negative psychological outcomes after an abortion. These include: "terminating a pregnancy that is wanted or meaningful, perceived pressure from others to terminate a pregnancy, perceived opposition to the abortion from partners, family, and/or friends, lack of perceived social support from others, various personality traits (e.g., low self-esteem, a pessimistic outlook, low-perceived control over life), a history of mental health problems prior to the pregnancy, feelings of stigma, perceived need for secrecy, exposure to antiabortion picketing, use of avoidance and denial coping strategies, feelings of commitment to the pregnancy, ambivalence about the abortion decision, low perceived ability to cope with the abortion, history of prior abortion, late term abortion."[4] Analysis of the studies identifying these risk factors reveals that the majority of women having abortions have one or more of these risk factors.[1]
Negative emotions following an abortion can co-exist with positive feelings.[1][4] Some proposed negative psychological effects of abortion have been referred to by anti-abortion advocates as a separate condition called "post-abortion syndrome", but this is not recognized by medical or psychological professionals in the United States.[5]
The widely referenced Turnaway Study, which employed a non-random and non-representative sample of women,[1] reported that there no relationship between most induced abortions and mental health problems compared to women who were refused a late term abortion.[6] The Turnaway Study research team concluded that social stigma was a main factor predicting negative emotions and regret years later.[7]
WP References
 | This section's factual accuracy is disputed. |
WP:BRD-NOT BRD is not a valid excuse for reverting good-faith efforts to improve a page simply because you don't like the changes.
WP:REMOVECITE There is guidance from ArbCom that removal of statements that are pertinent, sourced reliably, and written in a neutral style constitutes disruption.[1] Instead of removing cited work, you should be questioning uncited information.
- ^ a b c d e f Reardon, David C (2018-01-01). "The abortion and mental health controversy: A comprehensive literature review of common ground agreements, disagreements, actionable recommendations, and research opportunities". SAGE Open Medicine. 6: 2050312118807624. doi:10.1177/2050312118807624. ISSN 2050-3121. PMC 6207970. PMID 30397472.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ a b Sullins, Donald Paul (2016-01-01). "Abortion, substance abuse and mental health in early adulthood: Thirteen-year longitudinal evidence from the United States". SAGE Open Medicine. 4: 2050312116665997. doi:10.1177/2050312116665997. ISSN 2050-3121. PMC 5066584. PMID 27781096.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: PMC format (link) - ^ a b Fergusson, David M; Horwood, L John; Boden, Joseph M (2013-09-01). "Does abortion reduce the mental health risks of unwanted or unintended pregnancy? A re-appraisal of the evidence". Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 47 (9): 819–827. doi:10.1177/0004867413484597. ISSN 0004-8674.
- ^ a b c "Report of the APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion" (PDF). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 13 August 2008. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 June 2010.
- ^ Kelly, Kimberly (February 2014). "The spread of 'Post Abortion Syndrome' as social diagnosis". Social Science & Medicine. 102: 18–25. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.030. PMID 24565137.
- ^ Horvath, S; Schreiber, CA (14 September 2017). "Unintended Pregnancy, Induced Abortion, and Mental Health". Current Psychiatry Reports. 19 (11): 77. doi:10.1007/s11920-017-0832-4. PMID 28905259. S2CID 4769393.
- ^ Rocca, Corinne H.; Samari, Goleen; Foster, Diana G.; Gould, Heather; Kimport, Katrina (2020-01-13). "Emotions and decision rightness over five years following an abortion: An examination of decision difficulty and abortion stigma". Social Science & Medicine. 248: 112704. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112704. ISSN 0277-9536. PMID 31941577.