Summary
The wiki is the team’s documentation, arranged as a tree of pages written in Markdown. It holds what fits neither in the code nor in the data: conventions, protocols, variable dictionaries, meeting notes. Templates avoid the blank page, and a page can be marked verified to separate what is authoritative from what is not.
What a wiki is for in Linkr
A data warehouse always comes with knowledge that is not in it. Why a given variable is unusable before 2019. How the unit defines a readmission. Which procedure to follow before publishing.
That knowledge usually travels by word of mouth, by email, or in a document nobody can find again. The wiki gives it a place, next to the data it describes rather than in a separate tool.
The page tree
Pages are organised as a tree: a page can hold sub-pages, which can hold their own. That is what keeps a wiki readable as it grows — one chapter per broad subject, the detail underneath.
Each page gets an icon, which helps recognise the nature of a section at a glance in the tree. Right-clicking a page offers New child page, Rename, Change icon and Delete page.
Variable dictionary
One row per variable used in the unit's studies.
| Variable | Source table | Unit | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lactate | measurement | mmol/L | Reliable since 2019 |
| FiO₂ | measurement | % | Hourly entry |
| Norepinephrine | drug_exposure | µg/kg/min | — |
Note
Any new variable goes through a review before being added here.
Search rather than navigate
Past a few dozen pages, nobody browses the tree any more: they search. Ctrl + K opens search from anywhere in the wiki.
Templates
The New page dialog offers a template, which lays down a structure suited to the kind of document:
- SOP — a standard operating procedure, step by step.
- Data dictionary — the description of a source’s variables.
- Onboarding — what a newcomer should read first.
- Meeting notes, FAQ, Study protocol, Article — or a blank page if none fits.
New page
- ##Purpose
- ##Scope
- ##Responsibilities
- ##Procedure
- ##Revision history
The point is not to save a few minutes of formatting, but to end up with comparable documents: two procedures written six months apart look alike, so they read faster.
Writing a page
Edit opens the editor: the Markdown on the left, the rendering on the right. Beyond running text, the toolbar inserts a few useful blocks:
- callouts — note, tip, warning — and collapsible blocks to tuck away a detail without deleting it;
- a table of contents generated from the headings (
[[toc]]); - a link to another wiki page by its name (
[[Page Name]]); - Mermaid diagrams — flowchart, sequence, Gantt.
Attachments — an image, a PDF — are added from the button of that name, at the top of the page.
Each page shows the date it was last updated — often the first thing to check before trusting any documentation.
Verified pages
A wiki page ages. Whoever reads it cannot always tell whether it still describes reality.
So a page can be marked verified — the Verify button, at the top of the page: someone has re-read it and confirms its content. It is a useful distinction between a note jotted down along the way and a page that carries authority.
A typical use
The warehouse’s variable dictionary is marked verified after each annual review. Meeting notes never are — they date their own content.
Going further
- Overview — what the workspace groups around the wiki.
- Data catalog — for documenting the variables themselves, rather than the procedures.