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Avoid conflicts of interest (COI)

To make sure that Wikipedia continues to publish neutral content, there are strict conflict of interest rules. As a student, you are dependent on your instructor for a grade. So you might be seen to have a conflict of interest if you:

  • Work on articles about your instructor
  • Work on articles about people closely connected to your instructor (such as postdocs working for them)
  • Write an article about the department or program from which you intend to earn your degree
  • Cite your instructor's publications in the articles you're working on much more heavily than you do other sources. (It's OK to cite your instructor's work as one part of a wide variety of high quality sources.)

If you're unsure if a topic is acceptable, simply ask the Wikipedia Expert assigned to your class for guidance.

Now, let's look at the exciting part: finding the ideal article to improve!