Our mission is to develop models and insights utilizing scientific methods, and strengthen the Wikimedia research communities. We do this in order to: support technology and policy needs of the Wikimedia projects, and advance the understanding of the Wikimedia projects.
We prioritize serving four audiences: Wikimedia Foundation, Wikimedia affiliates, Wikimedia volunteer developers, and Wikimedia researchers.
We turn research questions into publicly shared knowledge. We design and test new technology, produce empirical insights to support new products and programs, and publish research informing the organization's and the movement's strategy.
Wikimedia Research consists of two complementary disciplines: Applied Science and User Experience (UX) Research. Together, these teams use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches to understand Wikimedia projects from multiple perspectives—from large-scale patterns across millions of edits to the experiences of individual contributors and readers.
We are strongly committed to principles of transparency, privacy, and open collaboration. We collaborate with a network of researchers in industry and academia, and publish all our output in the open.
Programs
Address Knowledge GapsDeveloping systems to identify and address gaps in content, readership, and contributors across Wikipedia languages.Improve Knowledge IntegrityEnhancing the ability of our communities to improve verifiability and detect policy violations through new technologies.Conduct Foundational WorkExtending the network of researchers and tools available to the community to encourage a greater diversity of research questions and projects.