The project has its roots in my own attempts as a graduate student to connect the literature I engage in. Tools like Zotero and Mendeley helped me organize PDFs and references, but I really wanted something that could help connect literature and citations together. Several times I tried setting up a wiki to do this, but each time it felt disorganized and overwhelming. As I prepared for my comprehensive exams in the fall of 2012, I finally found an organizational system for the wiki I thought I could sustain. I've been quietly contributing to it as a private side project ever since, and now feel it's reached the critical mass it needed for me to stay committed to it — and to make it public.
One of the things that drove me to graduate school was a desire to engage in the academic scholarship of my profession. Unfortunately, that's not easy to do as a teacher — either the literature is behind paywalls or inaccessible without a way to get the background knowledge needed to understand it. Usually both. When I started the "Research You Should Know" series on this blog, I hoped I could make some small dent in that problem. But blog posts still didn't let me make all the connections between the literature that I wanted to make. I wanted something that was less linear, and I think this wiki could be that thing.
Having read about similar specialized wikis, I know most fail to meet the expectations of their creators. I'm keeping my expectations modest. It's still a side project. (I have to finish my PhD program sometime, right?) It's a work in progress, and always will be. I don't expect dozens of contributors, although I'd really enjoy having at least a few. I don't expect the simple act of having access to more research to revolutionize anyone's practices. You deserve access to it, but alone it won't solve all our problems. I'll keep contributing to it, and I encourage you to visit the wiki, read the welcome message, and browse around a bit. I would love to get feedback, so either leave a comment or send me an email with your ideas!