Editing Wikidata

The different ways you can edit and add to Wikidata.

How to make an item 

Before starting this video, ensure that you are logged into your Wikidata account and have an item ready that you want to add. Also, check the item you want to make complies with their notability policy and that it does not already exist. 

1. Go to the Wikidata homepage.
2. Select 'Create new item' on the left hand side of the home page.
3. Add a label and description for your item. N.B. your title should be capitalised as if it is a proper noun and your description should not be phrased as a sentence.
4. Select 'Create'. 
5. Add a statement for your new item. 
   • Type in the property. For example, 'instance of' and then a value. For example, 'human'. 
   • Add a reference at this point if possible (see below).
   • Select 'publish' once you are finished with your statement. 
   • Continue until you have added all your statements. 

References 

References are a crucial part of Wikidata. They ensure that the information added is verifiable and that, over the long term, the data on Wikidata is made up from reliable sources. To add a reference:

1. Log into your Wikidata account and come to the item you want to edit. 
2. In the statement where you want to add a reference, in the bottom left corner of the box select 'add reference'.
3. Type in the property you want to use. For example:
   • 'reference URL' should be used for Internet URLs as references.
   • 'stated in' should be used to refer to the database or information document in which the claim is made. 
4. Add the relevant information in the box next to the property. 
5. Select 'publish' in the statement box to save your changes. 

Adding images 

Images are an important way to bring data to life. This is a guide for adding a picture to Wikidata for entries which do not already have one. 

The picture must be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons. Find the picture you want to attach and keep a note of the file name. 

e.g. Woolacombe Beach July 2020.jpg

1. Go to the Wikidata entry that you're interested in. 
2. Look under Statements where you'll see a list of different boxes with different items of information. 
3. At the end of the list of statements you'll see [add] or add statement. Click here. 
4. In the box marked 'property', enter 'image' or 'P18' which is the property for images. 
5. In the box next to this, enter the file name of the image as it appears on Wikimedia Commons e.g. Woolacombe Beach July 2020.jpg
6. Click on Save to the right of the box.

© Ewan McAndrew, Hannah Rothmann and Clea Strathmann, University of Edinburgh, 2021, CC BY-SA 4.0, unless otherwise indicated.