Scholarpedia
Encyclopedia
Scholarpedia is an English-language
online wiki
-based encyclopedia
that uses the same MediaWiki
software as Wikipedia
, but has features more commonly associated with open-access online academic journal
s.
Scholarpedia articles are written by invited expert authors and are subject to peer review
.
Scholarpedia lists the real names and affiliations of all authors, curators and editors involved in an article: however, the peer review process (which can suggest changes or additions, and has to be satisfied before an article can appear) is anonymous.
Scholarpedia articles are stored in an online repository, and can be cited
as conventional journal articles (Scholarpedia has the ISSN number 1941-6016). Scholarpedia's citation system includes support for revision numbers.
The project was created in February 2006 by Eugene M. Izhikevich, while he was a researcher at the Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California
. Izhikevich is also the editor-in-chief.
, dynamical systems, computational intelligence
, physics
and astrophysics
. In April 2009, Scholarpedia amounted to 500 peer-reviewed accepted articles and about 1400 articles at diverse stages of completion.
To ensure that the articles are written by experts, authors of the various articles in Scholarpedia are either invited by the editor-in-chief or other curators, or selected by a public election. For example, Jimmy Wales
and Larry Sanger
were nominated for the article on Wikipedia. As of May 2009, the list of authors included four Fields
medalists and sixteen Nobel prize
winners. Registered users must provide their full real name, and a recognised affiliation to an academic institution. Only registered users can edit an article, and those edits are subject to approval by the curator of the article, who is typically the author. Curatorship is transferrable. Users have a scholar index attribute which is incremented or decremented by various activities and which affects the user's capabilities on the website.
, Scholarpedia changed their licensing policy and now also accepts articles under the GNU Free Documentation License
and the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 license, in addition to the earlier system in which the author gives a non-exclusive license directly to Scholarpedia.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
online wiki
Wiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
-based encyclopedia
Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
that uses the same MediaWiki
MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a popular free web-based wiki software application. Developed by the Wikimedia Foundation, it is used to run all of its projects, including Wikipedia, Wiktionary and Wikinews. Numerous other wikis around the world also use it to power their websites...
software as Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, but has features more commonly associated with open-access online academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s.
Scholarpedia articles are written by invited expert authors and are subject to peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
.
Scholarpedia lists the real names and affiliations of all authors, curators and editors involved in an article: however, the peer review process (which can suggest changes or additions, and has to be satisfied before an article can appear) is anonymous.
Scholarpedia articles are stored in an online repository, and can be cited
Citation
Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source . More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression Broadly, a citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source (not always the original source). More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated...
as conventional journal articles (Scholarpedia has the ISSN number 1941-6016). Scholarpedia's citation system includes support for revision numbers.
The project was created in February 2006 by Eugene M. Izhikevich, while he was a researcher at the Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. Izhikevich is also the editor-in-chief.
Scope and authorship
Scholarpedia is at this time not a general encyclopedia; it currently focuses on the fields of computational neuroscienceComputational neuroscience
Computational neuroscience is the study of brain function in terms of the information processing properties of the structures that make up the nervous system...
, dynamical systems, computational intelligence
Computational intelligence
Computational intelligence is a set of Nature-inspired computational methodologies and approaches to address complex problems of the real world applications to which traditional methodologies and approaches are ineffective or infeasible. It primarily includes Fuzzy logic systems, Neural Networks...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties of celestial objects, as well as their interactions and behavior...
. In April 2009, Scholarpedia amounted to 500 peer-reviewed accepted articles and about 1400 articles at diverse stages of completion.
To ensure that the articles are written by experts, authors of the various articles in Scholarpedia are either invited by the editor-in-chief or other curators, or selected by a public election. For example, Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Wales
Jimmy Donal "Jimbo" Wales is an American Internet entrepreneur best known as a co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia Wikipedia and the Wikia company....
and Larry Sanger
Larry Sanger
Lawrence Mark "Larry" Sanger is an American philosopher, co-founder of Wikipedia, and the founder of Citizendium....
were nominated for the article on Wikipedia. As of May 2009, the list of authors included four Fields
Fields Medal
The Fields Medal, officially known as International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics, is a prize awarded to two, three, or four mathematicians not over 40 years of age at each International Congress of the International Mathematical Union , a meeting that takes place every four...
medalists and sixteen Nobel prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winners. Registered users must provide their full real name, and a recognised affiliation to an academic institution. Only registered users can edit an article, and those edits are subject to approval by the curator of the article, who is typically the author. Curatorship is transferrable. Users have a scholar index attribute which is incremented or decremented by various activities and which affects the user's capabilities on the website.
Copyright
Articles are available online without charge for non-commercial use, but may not be copied in bulk. Authors are credited on the article page., Scholarpedia changed their licensing policy and now also accepts articles under the GNU Free Documentation License
GNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
and the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 license, in addition to the earlier system in which the author gives a non-exclusive license directly to Scholarpedia.
See also
- WikipediaWikipediaWikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and especially NupediaNupediaNupedia was an English-language Web-based encyclopedia whose articles were written by experts and licensed as free content. It was founded by Jimmy Wales and underwritten by Bomis, with Larry Sanger as editor-in-chief...
, which had similar design to Scholarpedia - CitizendiumCitizendiumCitizendium is an English-language wiki-based free encyclopedia project launched by Larry Sanger, who co-founded Wikipedia in 2001....
- List of online encyclopedias