Wikipedia:WikiProject Consumer Reports/guide

Welcome to the Guide for Consumer Reports Staff a tutorial to help staff add content to Wikipedia articles

Key resources Wikipedia:Consumer Reports, for information about proposed Consumer Reports Wikipedia projects WP:TEAHOUSE, a place for beginners to get fast answers to Wikipedia questions WP:HELP, for help using Wikipedia

This is a two-minute tutorial video which explains how Wikipedia newcomers can start participating in the project.

What is this?

This is a guide to help staff at Consumer Reports add content to Wikipedia. Consumer Reports is a United States-based non-profit organization which promotes consumer rights by sharing information on products and services. The organization's editors, reports, researchers, and engineers are often subject matter experts on product testing and evaluation and have general information to share.

Read this in 2 minutes, finish everything within 20!

1. Read through this list to understand what will happen.
2. Go down this page and follow the instructions in bold. If you have problems, read the text which is not in bold.
3. Get a good source of published information which you can cite.
4. Create a Wikipedia account and log in.
5. Return to this page.
6. While logged in, go to the participant list on this page and sign your Wikipedia name in the list of reviewers.
7. Choose a template which describes the information you want to share
8. Copy that template
9. Identify and go to a Wikipedia article where you want to share your information
10. Click edit either at the top of that article or on the right side of the screen above the section into which you want to add your content
11. Paste the template into the place in a Wikipedia article where you want to share your information
12. Replace the example text in the template with your text
13. Click save at the bottom of the text box.
14. You made a useful contribution to Wikipedia which many people will read! Thank you!

Create an account and login, then return to this page

Open this link in a new tab to create a Wikipedia account or login here.

The purpose of asking you to create an account is so that other Wikipedians can find your contribution and suggestion and implement it into the article.

Put your name on the below list

Copy this
* {{user|YOUR WIKIPEDIA USERNAME HERE}}
then click "edit" to the immediate right and just above this line. Paste the template at the bottom of the list and type your username into it. Click save at the bottom of the text box and you will return here.

• Bluerasberry (talk · contribs)
• li-lu-col (talk · contribs)

Choose a template which matches what you want to do

Comparison between types of a product

Below is an example template for a table to make a comparison between products. Here are some examples of what this template can produce.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! colspan="4" style="background-color: #CCEEEE;" | Light bulb comparison<ref>
{{cite web 
|url= http://www.example.com
|title=Buying Guide
|first= |last= 
|work=consumerreports.org 
|year=2012 
|accessdate=2 August 2012}}</ref>
|-
|-
! Type
! Advantages
! Disadvantages
|-
| '''Type:''' (list here 1)
| '''Advantages''' (list here 1)
| '''Disadvantages''' (list here 1)
|-
| '''Type:''' (list here 2)
| '''Advantages''' (list here 2)
| '''Disadvantages''' (list here 2)
|-
| '''Type:''' (list here 3)
| '''Advantages''' (list here 3)
| '''Disadvantages:''' (list here 3)
|-
|}

That template inserted into an article generates this:

Light bulb comparison
Type	Advantages	Disadvantages
Type: (list here 1)	Advantages (list here 1)	Disadvantages (list here 1)
Type: (list here 2)	Advantages (list here 2)	Disadvantages (list here 2)
Type: (list here 3)	Advantages (list here 3)	Disadvantages: (list here 3)

Cite a magazine

Here is an example citation for a magazine. Copy this, and change the fields for your citation.

{{Citation
| author= Gregory L. Williams
| title = Buyer Beware: The Consumers' Research achives at the Rutgers University Libraries
| journal = Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries
| volume = 57
| issue = 1-2
| date = 1995
| pages = 25-39
| url = http://www2.scc.rutgers.edu/journals/index.php/jrul/article/viewFile/1737/3179
}}

That template inserted into an article generates this:

Gregory L. Williams (1995), "Buyer Beware: The Consumers' Research achives at the Rutgers University Libraries", Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries, 57 (1–2): 25–39

Cite a website

Here is an example citation template for a website. Copy this, and change the fields for your citation.

{{Citation
| url = http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov
| title = NPS Focus
| work = National Register of Historic Places
| publisher = [[National Park Service]]
| date = 
| accessdate = November 30, 2010
}}

That template inserted into an article generates this:

"NPS Focus", National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service, retrieved November 30, 2010

Go to an article to add your facts

Search for a Wikipedia article where you can add your fact. When you find it, find an appropriate section in which to add your state, click edit, at the top right immediately above where your destination section begins, then paste the template into the appropriate place. Complete the template and add your fact. Click save below the text box.

Search for an article where you can add your fact and reference

1. Since you are about to go to a Wikipedia article, open a copy of this page in a new window or tab with this link so that you do not lose your place in these instructions by leaving the page.
2. Use the search box to find an article you wish to review.
3. Review the article.
4. Click "edit" at the top of the article page.
5. You just copied a template from this page - now paste it at the bottom of the editable article page.
6. Insert your fact along with an appropriate supporting template.
7. Click save at the bottom when you are done.
8. You have just posted a suggestion for improving the article. This finishes the project. Thank you!

Support

Hopefully you found the instructions on this page sufficient for making your suggestion. If you want further support then here are some options.

1. Post a question or comment on this project's talk page. Do this by going to the top of this page, clicking "talk", then at the top of the talk page click "edit". Write something at the bottom of the talk page.
2. Go to the Wikipedia Teahouse. Friendly people are there to quickly answer beginners' questions about Wikipedia.
3. If you want to review Wikipedia's exhaustive help archives, go to WP:HELP

About

This guide is a learning exercise created for Consumer Reports staff who are learning to use Wikipedia.

Follow up

Want to learn more about Wikipedia? Individual editors can go to Wikipedia:Tutorial. Consumer Reports staff may contact Lane Raspberry at lrasberry@consumer.org for Wikipedia tutorials.