Wikipedia Survey

We are trying to understand how pages evolve in Wikipedia. We are interested in getting a sense of the 
different patterns of collaboration within the Wikipedia site as they relate to: how participants reach 
consensus, how disputes get settled, how fast pages grow/shrink, how many people contribute to 
different pages, and whether these contributions persist over time.

It seems to us that Wikipedia users would be the best people to ask about such patterns. So we have 
put this survey together hoping to get your insights on some of the social dynamics of Wikipedia.

 

About you:

1. For how long have you been reading/participating on the Wikipedia site?

2. How often do you read Wikipedia articles?
every few months
monthly
weekly
daily

3. How often do you contribute/post to Wikipedia articles?
every few months
monthly
weekly
daily

4. What kind of participation characterizes your involvement in Wikipedia? (check all that are applicable)
reader
writer
gardener (you help keep things organized, legible, etc.)
Wikipedia admin

5. Please list the top 5 pages you are involved in. Please explain your role (writer, reader, etc.) on each page:
Page 1:Role:
Page 2:Role:
Page 3:Role:
Page 4:Role:
Page 5:Role:

6. Do you currently have any pages on your “watch list”?
yes
no
If yes, how many pages are you watching?




Growth Patterns

7. How likely are you to delete material that others have written?
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely

8. How likely is it that pages about highly controversial topics (e.g. "Abortion") stabilize (no more major edits) at any point?
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely

9. How likely is it that pages about less controversial topics (e.g. "House") stabilize (no more major edits) at any point?
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely

10. Have you ever refactored a page by moving part of the material to a different (possibly new) page?
yes
no
Please explain:




Authorship

11. How often do you look at the RecentChanges page?
every few months
monthly
weekly
daily

12. How important is the “RecentChanges” page in the way you navigate/use the Wikipedia site?
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely
Please explain:

13. How important is it that you recognize the names of the people who have made changes to the pages you contribute/keep track of?
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely
Please explain:

14. Have you ever read a page on Wikipedia and wondered who had written different portions of it?
yes
no
Please explain:

15. We're curious about why you contribute to Wikipedia.
How important are the following factors?

a) The goal of creating a site that stores knowledge about many different topics.
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely

b) The fact that you're collaborating with people all over the globe on a common project.
not at all 1 2 3 4 5 extremely
Please explain:




Negotiation

16. Some pages in Wikipedia have a history of negotiation (“edit wars”) between authors about what belongs on the page and what doesn't. Eventually, these back-and-forth sessions taper off. What mechanisms would you say people use in Wikipedia to reach consensus?


17. When thinking about the "truces" that occur when two or more people are arguing about a page, is your sense that people usually arrive at a compromise, or does one of the parties eventually just "give up"?
compromise
giving up
other
Please explain:


18. In the “edit wars” mentioned above, is it usually one person in a dialogue with another, or two groups of people?
one person in a dialogue with another
two groups of people
other
Please explain:


19. Have you ever been part of an “edit war” in Wikipedia?
yes
no
If yes, which page was that and how did you reach an agreement with the opposing party?




Vandalism

20. Vandalism in Wiki sites can be of different types: mass deletions and addition of offensive language, as well as more subtle types.
What percentage of the editing activity in Wikipedia do you think involves either mass deletion of an article or addition of vulgarities?

21. Have you ever fixed any vandalism acts on Wikipedia pages?
yes
no
If yes, please explain what page(s) and what kind(s) of vandalism:

22. Have you ever vandalized a Wikipedia page?
yes
no
If yes, please explain what page(s) and what kind(s) of vandalism:




General

23. We are currently working on a data analysis and charting program to understand how Wiki pages change. Are there any aspects of Wikipedia behavior you think are especially interesting or mysterious, and would like to see analyzed?


24. If you were the one building a visualization tool* for Wikis, what would you like to visualize? What would you like this tool to show you?


25. We would be happy to hear any other thoughts you might have about how pages evolve over time in Wikipedia. Feel free to address any issues you feel we have not covered in this survey.



 

* Visualization tools allow us to analyze lots of quantitative data at a glance using visual representations.