Great Research Notes Are Essential To Every WisdomCard
The Research Notes are essential to the quality of each WisdomCard because they provide useful information at a glance, help frame the topic of the WisdomCard, and are the first thing searchers see to establish credibility.
It is critical that you take great care in writing Research Notes. This is your first chance to help guide a reader, and give them confidence that you can be trusted to provide great health information. The Research Notes provide an introduction to the topic, useful information that's easy to understand and set the groundwork for exploring the links that follow.
Research Notes should be between four and six complete sentences. They should be written in clear, concise language and assume the user knows nothing about the term. Research Notes must be in your words; do not borrow exact language from other sources.
Please follow these Research Notes rules:
Formatting
The Research Notes are the one time on a WisdomCard where you will need to touch code inside double curly brackets. Start typing your Research Notes right after the "note=" inside the double curly brackets around the "Guidenote" code and make sure the closing double curly brackets are after your last Fast Fact. An example from the Colon Cancer Genetics WisdomCard shows what the code will look like when you're finished:
'''Fast Facts:'''
*--Genetic conditions, such as [[familial adenomatous polyposis]] (FAP) and [[hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer]] (HNPCC) predispose an individual to [[colon cancer]].
*--There is an increased risk of colon cancer associated with multiple [[SNPs]], including [[rs6983267]], [[rs2273535]], and [[rs7903146]].
*--Early testing is advised for those with a family history of colon cancer.
}}
Aim For at Least Four to Six Complete Sentences
Each sentence should convey a fact about the topic. If the topic you're writing about is commonly known by other names, or called other things, you should put that information in your very first sentence. For example:
Rue is also called Ruta graveolens, garden rue, German rue, herb-of-grace, countryman's treacle, and herbygrass.
Ideally, the facts you present will build on one another.
Anthrax is a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by bacteria, and is rare in humans except when spread on purpose. Anthrax is considered a major public health threat. The source of an outbreak spread by mail in 2001 has never been discovered.
Stick to Facts
Only feature evidence-based information, not hearsay. It is OK to mention controversies surrounding a topic, but do so in a neutral or journalistic way rather than injecting your personal opinion. Here's a Research Note that handles controversy well:
Chondroitin -- also called Chondroitin sulfate, CDS, CSC, or CSA -- is currently manufactured from shark cartilage, beef cartilage or bovine trachea or by synthetic means. Many expert and industry opinions support the use of chondroitin and its common partner, glucosamine, for treating (or possibly even reversing) the degenerative process of osteoarthritis.
It delivers facts such as the animal sources of chondroitin and current medical thinking, but does not express a personal opinion as to whether this supplement works.
Choose the Most Relevant and Interesting Facts
If you were looking up this subject online, what would you want to know first? We can't know for sure what any individual user wants, but we can strive to answer real people's questions. For instance, the Research Notes for Emergency Contraception answer the question "Is it too late for me to take this?":
Emergency contraception, sometimes called the "morning-after pill," is a short burst of synthetic hormones meant to prevent pregnancy after having unprotected sex. It is most effective if used within 24 hours of sex but can be used for up to five days after the event. EC is intended for occasional, not regular, use.
Use Citations
Citations or references prove that the facts which you have included are indeed factual. This is essential to fostering credibility, trust, and value in your WisdomCard. See full instructions here: References and Citations.
Inter-linking
When it makes sense to do so, you can link to other WisdomCards within your Research Notes. Do this when you use terms in your Research Notes that refer to other WisdomCards, to help the user find more related information. Whenever you do this, please check the link and make sure it works.
The formating for inter-linking is simply a pair of square brackets, like this: [[term here]]
In cases where your sentence structure might not exactly match the page titles for the link to work, you can use the following format: [[Page Title|your text]]
For example:
Prunes, which are dried [[plums]], are rich in [[Vitamin C|vitamins C]], [[Vitamin A|A]], and [[Riboflavin|B-2]].
Which will show up on the page as:
Prunes, which are dried plums, are rich in vitamins C, A, and B-2.
In cases were you want to link to a category page, you use the format: [[:Category:CategoryName|your text]] -- be sure to get that first colon before the word "Category."
For example:
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common of all [[:Category:Cancer|cancers]].
Which will show up on the page as:
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common of all cancers.
Inter-links should be on-topic for the sentence. For example:
[[Reconstructive Surgery|Reconstructive surgeries]] include: [[Breast reconstruction|breast reconstruction]], [[Foot and Ankle Surgery|foot]] or [[hand surgery]], wound repair, and [[Facial Reconstructive Surgery|facial surgeries]].
Which will show up on the page as:
Reconstructive surgeries include: breast reconstruction, foot or hand surgery, wound repair, and facial surgeries.
Things to Avoid
Passive voice increases the reading level of your writing and that can impact our search performance. It can also make things more confusing for the reader. Here's an example:
- Passive: An incision will be made in your abdomen.
- Active: A surgeon will make an incision in your abdomen.
Medical jargon does the same thing. The best way to avoid it? When you're reading up on your topic, stop and think about how you'd explain what you've just read to a friend. That's what you should write down!
For example:
- Jargon: A patient with this condition may suffer from edema, hypertension, and pruritus.
- Lay-person: If you have this condition, you may experience swelling, high blood pressure, and itching.
Long, run-on sentences. Use short, simple sentences which are always easier to read.
Simple grammar and spelling errors.
Research notes that make no mention of the topic, and/or have very little to do with the specific topic. We're now getting to a point where our topics are very specific. Don't let your focus veer far from the title, unless there's a reason noted in the "Discuss" page. (Make it a habit to check the "Discuss" page for notes from other team members.)
Write it Yourself
Please don't copy and paste from another site. Gather your information from multiple sources -- you should be reading and researching as you compile the links for your page -- and bring together what you've learned in one information-packed (and well-referenced) Research Note.
Write it Well
Spelling and grammar should be perfect, of course. That includes capitalization and punctuation. Once you're done writing your Research Note, read it over to yourself, and then put the facts into words you might use to explain this topic to a friend. This will help you smooth out your writing and achieve a helpful tone.
Proofread
Carefully proofread your own work looking for these common errors/issues:
- Research notes that don't address the topic
- Research notes that don't mention other common names for the topic (also known as/sometimes called)
- Medical jargon (this content should be easy enough for an eighth grader to understand)
- Passive voice
- Apostrophes in the wrong places (its/it's)
- Using the wrong word (they're, their, there; you're, your)
- Incorrect capitalization, for example, Alzheimer's Disease (should be disease)
Check it Again
Are you sure all your facts are correct? Is it informative and easy to read? Does it draw the reader in, providing answers to basic questions while inviting the reader to learn more?
