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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 January 2024

Puyu Yang and Giovanni Colavizza

Wikipedia's inclusive editorial policy permits unrestricted participation, enabling individuals to contribute and disseminate their expertise while drawing upon a multitude of…

Abstract

Purpose

Wikipedia's inclusive editorial policy permits unrestricted participation, enabling individuals to contribute and disseminate their expertise while drawing upon a multitude of external sources. News media outlets constitute nearly one-third of all citations within Wikipedia. However, embracing such a radically open approach also poses the challenge of the potential introduction of biased content or viewpoints into Wikipedia. The authors conduct an investigation into the integrity of knowledge within Wikipedia, focusing on the dimensions of source political polarization and trustworthiness. Specifically, the authors delve into the conceivable presence of political polarization within the news media citations on Wikipedia, identify the factors that may influence such polarization within the Wikipedia ecosystem and scrutinize the correlation between political polarization in news media sources and the factual reliability of Wikipedia's content.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conduct a descriptive and regression analysis, relying on Wikipedia Citations, a large-scale open dataset of nearly 30 million citations from English Wikipedia. Additionally, this dataset has been augmented with information obtained from the Media Bias Monitor (MBM) and the Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC).

Findings

The authors find a moderate yet significant liberal bias in the choice of news media sources across Wikipedia. Furthermore, the authors show that this effect persists when accounting for the factual reliability of the news media.

Originality/value

The results contribute to Wikipedia’s knowledge integrity agenda in suggesting that a systematic effort would help to better map potential biases in Wikipedia and find means to strengthen its neutral point of view policy.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 January 2024

Eneko Bidegain, Txema Egaña and Aitor Zuberogoitia

This study aims to analyse how first-year undergraduate audiovisual communication students assess the credibility and reliability of information on Wikipedia in Basque and analyse…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse how first-year undergraduate audiovisual communication students assess the credibility and reliability of information on Wikipedia in Basque and analyse whether the experience of being a Wikipedia editor helps to improve students’ perceptions of Wikipedia’s trustworthiness. The purpose of this project was to help students to better understand the credibility mechanisms of Wikipedia in Basque regarding the work of editing and creating entries. Do students’ perceptions about how reliable Wikipedia is change if they receive training as Wikipedia content editors and understand Wikipedia’s credibility mechanisms? What are their perceptions about the credibility of Wikipedia?

Design/methodology/approach

The authors observed and analysed students’ behaviour and perceptions when creating Wikipedia articles and learning about the process of evaluating Wikipedia. This research was carried out at [masked for review] over four consecutive years, where 188 students in the Degree Programme in Audiovisual Communication participated through a questionnaire and in-depth interviews.

Findings

After the experience of creating content on Wikipedia and learning about Wikipedia’s credibility mechanisms experientially, the majority of students reported that their perception of Wikipedia’s credibility had increased, and 70% of students believed Wikipedia to be reliable or more reliable than expected. A smaller number of students stated that understanding Wikipedia’s editing processes decreased their perception of Wikipedia’s credibility.

Practical implications

This project will lead to a better understanding of the performance of students in editing content on Wikipedia and of the impact that this editing experience has on students’ perceptions of credibility with respect to Wikipedia. It will make it possible to better incorporate Wikipedia content editing into the learning processes of students and citizens. This study provides interesting keys to improving the reliability and credibility of Wikipedia among students.

Social implications

As the study examined Basque Wikipedia, it has important social implications since Basque is a minority language and Wikipedia is the main sources of information for students who study in Basque.

Originality/value

The authors have been analysing the credibility of information in general and that of information on Wikipedia in particular since 2010. Based on this experience, the authors decided to design this study so that it was carried out while the students were creating and editing Wikipedia content as part of a project in their educational curriculum. Furthermore, the study expands the body of research carried out to date by incorporating the perspectives of media studies students.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 October 2018

Piotr Konieczny

This study investigates why contributors to online volunteer organizations reduce activity or discontinue volunteering. First, this analysis, based on a survey of over a 100…

Abstract

This study investigates why contributors to online volunteer organizations reduce activity or discontinue volunteering. First, this analysis, based on a survey of over a 100 English Wikipedia’s volunteers with the highest edit count, identifies a gap in the research on volunteers burnout/dropout, namely the importance of interpersonal conflict as an understudied yet highly significant factor. Second, this analysis has practical implications for the sustainability of the Wikipedia project. Third, this analysis should outline an underrepresented issue that if generalizable, may help other volunteer organizations identify a key area related to their volunteer burnout/dropout.

Details

Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-895-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 November 2012

Linda S. Watts

This essay explores an instructional application of Wikipedia within the context of an undergraduate capstone course in historical studies, entitled “Revisiting the Weather…

Abstract

This essay explores an instructional application of Wikipedia within the context of an undergraduate capstone course in historical studies, entitled “Revisiting the Weather Underground.” I wanted student research writing to find a wider audience than the classroom, so devised an assignment which called upon students in this senior seminar to research, write, and publish (via Wikipedia) biographies of individuals associated with this antiwar, anti-imperialist organization. Course membership included both traditional-aged college students and returning students. None had prior experience with social history, biography, publishing, or writing/editing on Wikipedia. Despite the fact that all participants (and I include myself here) had a steep learning curve when it came to the technology necessary to address a reading public through Wikipedia, the students rose to the challenge. The use of Wikipedia as venue shaped the manner in which students thought about their biographical subjects (some of whom could conceivably – and do, in fact – read and respond to the biographies), their subject matter (the Weather Underground), their audience (which included Wikipedia readers and editors internationally), their responsibilities as researchers to be accountable for their characterizations of others’ life stories, their accountability in sourcing information, and their sense of authorship (which all needed to learn to share with strangers encountered through Wikipedia). In reflecting on the assignment, students valued the experience as authentic scholarly communication and lasting historical learning. The featured assignment demanded close partnerships among students, faculty, librarians, educational technologists, and Wikipedia editors/administrators, and served also to dramatize the perils and possibilities of shared inquiry.

Details

Increasing Student Engagement and Retention Using Online Learning Activities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-236-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2012

Aleksi Aaltonen and Jannis Kallinikos

The evolution of Wikipedia betrays an increasing reliance on policies and guidelines, signalling certain stabilisation in the knowledge making processes underlying the…

Abstract

The evolution of Wikipedia betrays an increasing reliance on policies and guidelines, signalling certain stabilisation in the knowledge making processes underlying the encyclopaedia. We interpret such a state of affairs as reflecting the need to provide a few principles and guidelines of coordination, in a context that has otherwise been marked by vast diversity, high membership turnover and the lack of traditional exploitative structures. Rather than reflecting bureaucratisation and a shift away from its constitutive principles, the consolidation of these coordinative mechanisms further embeds the distinctive profile of knowledge making processes characteristic of the online encyclopaedia. They reinforce the diversity of the collective (rather than individual capabilities and skills) as the primary source of knowledge and render the mechanisms of harvesting that diversity and assembling it to a reasonable knowledge output key means of social learning.

Details

Managing ‘Human Resources’ by Exploiting and Exploring People’s Potentials
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-506-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 8 July 2021

Toni Sant

The world's most popular noncommercial website is built on five pillars, which include an assumption of good faith and ensuring all points of view are included in every…

Abstract

The world's most popular noncommercial website is built on five pillars, which include an assumption of good faith and ensuring all points of view are included in every encyclopedia article. How does this pan out in the day-to-day reality of fake news and the ever-growing climate of post-truth? How apt are mechanisms established by Wikipedia over a decade ago in the face of unreliable news sources and beliefs based on gut feelings and emotions rather than verifiable evidence? Active editors of Wikipedia firmly believe that this open online encyclopedia and other wikis operating under the same value system are lifeboats for truth seekers in a post-truth society. The mechanisms established over many years for sharing open knowledge through this online platform are even more useful now than they may have been in previous times, even though this too is understandably debatable.

Details

Media, Technology and Education in a Post-Truth Society
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-907-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 May 2019

Rachel Wexelbaum

This chapter addresses the current state of librarian participation in the global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) Wikipedia engagement efforts and…

Abstract

This chapter addresses the current state of librarian participation in the global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer+ (LGBTQ+) Wikipedia engagement efforts and proposes an extended librarian advocacy to advance LGBTQ+ rights and concerns. The author provides a brief history of global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement, librarian involvement in Wikipedia, and librarian participation in global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia initiatives. In the process, the author examines the underrepresentation and invisibility of librarians in global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement efforts and Wikipedia initiatives in general, as well as the barriers that librarians face in becoming active Wikipedian librarians. Based on a review of the literature, the analysis of data gathered from Wikipedia, and the author’s own experiences as an LGBTQ+ Wikipedian librarian, the author recommends strategies for librarians to advocate for and include global LGBTQ+ Wikipedia engagement in their professional practice.

Details

LGBTQ+ Librarianship in the 21st Century: Emerging Directions of Advocacy and Community Engagement in Diverse Information Environments
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-474-9

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2023

Brendan Luyt and Karryl Sagun-Trajano

In this study, the authors look at the case of Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines between 1965 and 1986. Documenting the life and career of Marcos on Wikipedia

Abstract

Purpose

In this study, the authors look at the case of Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines between 1965 and 1986. Documenting the life and career of Marcos on Wikipedia provides an excellent example of the pitfalls confronting those seeking to address disinformation without first reflecting deeply on the reasons why people subscribe to views deemed outlandish by the intellectual or cultural mainstream.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors sampled the version of the Marcos article on Wikipedia as it existed after the first edit of each year since its inception (2002). This resulted in 22 texts for analysis. Content and thematic analyses were conducted on these texts as well as on the entire body of talk page comments for the article.

Findings

The authors' work suggests that the basic elements of responsible encyclopedic writing have prevailed in the case of Wikipedia's biography of Marcos. However, this is not an unalloyed victory, as issues of polarization remain unaddressed.

Originality/value

Underlying revisionist or distorted claims about Ferdinand Marcos (and other controversial topics) lie very real grievances that give these claims traction for many people. Hence, it is not enough to “just present the facts” to readers. Rather, the authors argue that what is needed is a synthesis of positions that would allow for common ground to be found between them. This could be done in the case of Wikipedia by cultivating editors who are capable and willing to engage with the subject literature in a deeper and richer fashion.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 80 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 July 2023

Forough Rahimi and Farshid Danesh

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of Persian Scientific Papers (PSPs) on Persian Wikipedia by studying Wikipedia's citations to these papers.

Abstract

Purpose

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of Persian Scientific Papers (PSPs) on Persian Wikipedia by studying Wikipedia's citations to these papers.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study is applied research, which has been performed by the web-mining method, such as downloading web pages, extracting information (references), identifying papers, detecting peer-review journals and calculating the frequency rates. The statistical population included 10,000 Persian Wikipedia Pages (PWPs) that were analyzed in two rounds with a six-month interval.

Findings

The number of pages containing the Persian references section was 3,994 and 4,063 out of the 10,000 pages extracted in the first and second rounds. The ratio of pages that cited scientific sources (58 and 67 pages) to the pages extracted from the PWP was equal to 0.58 and 0.67%. The ratio of pages that cited scientific sources to pages with Persian references in each round was equal to 1.45 and 1.64%. The number of references extracted from the PWP in each round equaled 30,441 and 35,891. Eight titles from reputable Persian journals had received at least three citations from Wikipedia.

Originality/value

The present study has determined the extent of interaction between science and society (knowledge flow) in the form of citations from Wikipedia articles to articles in peer-reviewed journals. The study of this issue in Persian Wikipedia in more than 2000 Persian peer-reviewed journals shows the originality of the present paper. Studying citation reliability in a collaborative and openly editable platform is another originality of the work.

Details

Performance Measurement and Metrics, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-8047

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2023

Paul A. Thomas

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefits and challenges of using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to edit Wikipedia.

142

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential benefits and challenges of using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT to edit Wikipedia.

Design/methodology/approach

The first portion of this paper provides background about Wikipedia and LLMs, explicating briefly how each works. The paper's second section then explores both the ways that LLMs can be used to make Wikipedia a stronger site and the challenges that these technologies pose to Wikipedia editors. The paper's final section explores the implications for information professionals.

Findings

This paper argues that LLMs can be used to proofread Wikipedia articles, outline potential articles and generate usable Wikitext. The pitfalls include the technology's potential to generate text that is plagiarized or violates copyright, its tendency to produce “original research” and its tendency to generate incorrect or biased information.

Originality/value

While there has been limited discussion among Wikipedia editors about the use of LLMs when editing the site, hardly any scholarship has been given to how these models can impact Wikipedia's development and quality. This paper thus aims to fill this gap in knowledge by examining both the potential benefits and pitfalls of using LLMs on Wikipedia.

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 40 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Keywords

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