Org:Getting to work on Oral Citations / Oral Knowledge

Oral knowledge needs to be cite-able for Wikimedia to achieve more universal encyclopedia-ness.

From the Berlin Summit from 2022: From Kelly Foster in the Room 10 breakout session: Haitian historian Michel-Rolph Trouillot articulated a 4-step process of the production of history which may serve as a high level framework for understanding the different types of work that will be required to address the challenge of oral citations: the moment of fact creation (the making of sources); the moment of fact assembly (the making of archives); the moment of fact retrieval (the making of narratives); and the moment of retrospective significance (the making of history in the final instance).

See Oral knowledge in Wikspore mainspace for a broader discussion. Pharos has ambition to create a {{cite oral}} template and other relevant Wikimedia standards.

Experts in oral history can advise us: https://www.ohs.org.uk/ ; ESSHC/Oral history network (Peter has emailed them for advice)

Here is one way to cite a "personal communication" to the author: [1].

In the text: "(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2019)."

In a footnote: "¹ P. Smith (personal communication, November 3, 2019) also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style."

It is possible to add more detail to such a citation, e.g., that it was from an email, or an interview, or a focus group, or a conversation. Let's gather examples.

References

Description	The 2030 goal of Knowledge Equity demands that we include marginalized forms of knowledge (e.g. oral, traditional, intangible) that currently do not fit the text-centric, academic-style citation practices of the Wikimedia projects. The Wikimedia Foundation would like to help convene this conversation with the goal of strengthening the community of practice focused on oral citations and supporting new collaborations, experiments, research, and partnerships that can drive innovation in this space.
Primary recommendation	9. Innovate in Free Knowledge
Secondary recommendation(s)	8. Identify Topics for Impact • 2. Improve User Experience • 5. Coordinate Across Stakeholders • 6. Invest in Skills and Leadership Development
Regional focus	Global
Links	https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/Rapid/Oral_Culture_Transcription_Toolkit https://whoseknowledge.org/resource/part-2-transformative-practices-building-community-knowledge/ https://wikispore.wmflabs.org/wiki/Oral_knowledge https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Oral_knowledge https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Oral_Citations https://cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/people-are-knowledge
Stage	Brainstorming / Exploring
Seeking collaboration?	Yes
Seeking collaboration with	Any Wikimedia communities or allies working on some part of this problem. Have you been experimenting with oral citations on your wiki? Have you been working on the creation of audiovisual archives that could be cited as sources on-wiki? Have you done research into best practices and ethical challenges, or do you have ideas for partnerships (e.g. with ethnographic, academic, or journalistic initiatives to preserve and document traditional knowledge) that could help us advance this work. Do you have ideas for new technical workflows and user experiences that could support the creation, citation, and consumption of oral knowledge via Wikimedia projects? Please use the sign-up sheet that will be provided by the Summit team to list your name and to be part of next conversations.
Collaboration needs	Replicate/Adapt another group's activity in our area • Exchange to learn from each other • Partnership to approach a non-Wikimedia entity • Co-design a new activity
Contact person	BVershbow_(WMF)
Wikimedia affiliation	Wikimedia Foundation
Wikimedia Foundation team	Community Programs
Collaboration interest	Runab_WMF,user:MassiveEartha