https://research.wikimedia.org 2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z https://github.com/jpmonette/feed UX research projects at the Wikimedia Foundation. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Semantic_Search_MVP_Qual_Research.pdf 2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Qualitative evaluation of semantic search MVP concepts for Wikipedia, with Wikipedia app users and non-app users, in English and French, focused on perceptions of Semantic vs lexical result relevance; perceptions of AI- vs human-generated text; and onboarding and messaging around the experience.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish and Sandra Abrouk for the Mobile Apps team
]]> Mike Raish and Sandra Abrouk for the Mobile Apps team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:User_Engagement_with_the_App_Explore_Feed 2025-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

A mixed-method study examining perceptions of the Wikipedia Explore Feed and opportunities to improve engagement.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Bethany Gerdemann with Michael Raish and the Apps team
]]> Bethany Gerdemann with Michael Raish and the Apps team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Guided_article_and_section_creation 2025-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding the workflows, obstacles, and successes of editors engaged in new article or section creation to improve the available processes and reduce the number of deletions of these contributions.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager and Jahnavi Mirashi for the Language and Product Localization Team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager and Jahnavi Mirashi for the Language and Product Localization Team urn:feed-item:4ece0cdfbcd76cba66400098ac849d879f795ab6 2025-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

Documenting local help and support structures, especially for conflict resolution, across four wikis to inform recommendations for the Incident Reporting System.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo with Katie Coleman, for the Product Safety and Integrity team
]]> Claudia Lo with Katie Coleman, for the Product Safety and Integrity team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Understanding_User_Needs_for_Deep_Reading_Report.pdf 2025-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding the "deep reading" experience on Wikipedia, to inform improvements to the reading experience, particularly around discovery and search.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Tara Rooks with Viviana Ortiz, Eli Asikin-Garmager, and Debra Kumar for the Readers team
]]> Tara Rooks with Viviana Ortiz, Eli Asikin-Garmager, and Debra Kumar for the Readers team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Centralized_contributions_for_moderation_activity 2025-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

Discover if experienced editors want a centralized hub to discover and find new contribution suggestions, and if so, what should be on it to encourage its use.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, Jahnavi Mirashi for the Moderator Tools Team
]]> Claudia Lo, Jahnavi Mirashi for the Moderator Tools Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Report)_Research_findings_for_Watchlist_and_Task_Prioritization.pdf 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding how moderators and patrollers use their watchlist page and how they discover, organize and prioritize their on-wiki work.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Daisy Chen for the Moderator Tools Team
]]> Daisy Chen for the Moderator Tools Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Editing)_Peacock_Check_exploratory_interviews.pdf 2025-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Conversations with 4 readers and 1 editors about the Editing team's upcoming Peacock Check feature in Visual Editor.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Michael Raish with the Editing Team
]]> Michael Raish with the Editing Team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Collaborative_Translation_Research 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding group processes & needs around translation.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager and Jahnavi Mirashi
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager and Jahnavi Mirashi https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading_and_Editing_on_the_iOS_App_-_Apr2025.pdf 2025-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study explores how English and Japanese Wikipedia app users engage with reading and editing, to inform future improvements to the iOS app experience.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Bethany Gerdemann, Mike Raish, Project Kobo K.K. with Haley Nordeen and the Mobile Apps team
]]> Bethany Gerdemann, Mike Raish, Project Kobo K.K. with Haley Nordeen and the Mobile Apps team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:FlaggedRevisions_investigation 2025-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

As part of the Research group, the Design Research team supports Product Design by delivering insights that help product teams make informed and inspired decisions.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, Tara Rooks for the Moderator Tools Team
]]> Claudia Lo, Tara Rooks for the Moderator Tools Team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaigns/WikiProjects#Definition:_What_do_we_mean_by_WikiProject_or_other_Collaborative_editing_initatives 2024-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Design, distribute, and analyze a survey of WikiProject contributors in order to identify projects for impact.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Michael Raish and Alex Stinson for the Campaigns team
]]> Michael Raish and Alex Stinson for the Campaigns team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Wikipedia_Administrator_Recruitment,_Retention,_and_Attrition/Report 2024-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Causes behind human administration recruiting, retention, and departure patterns.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, Yu-Ming Liou, Claudia Lo, Caroline Myrick, with Bethany Gerdemann and Daisy Chen
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, Yu-Ming Liou, Claudia Lo, Caroline Myrick, with Bethany Gerdemann and Daisy Chen https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Volunteer_Archetypes 2024-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

While V1 Archetypes research engaged with both off-Wiki volunteer contributors and previous research conducted by the WMF, V2 intends to provide a strong empirical basis for Archetypes by expanding the size and number of populations engaged.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Michael Raish, Tanja Andic, Sneha Patel, and Rita Ho
]]> Michael Raish, Tanja Andic, Sneha Patel, and Rita Ho urn:feed-item:790954f87d886b16fd4c46ebc66f5bb275f6f5d9 2024-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

Literature review highlighting the place of Wikipedia as a key part of the internet information ecosystem, in the fight against disinformation.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Claudia Lo, Martin Gerlach, Pablo Aragón, Diego Saez-Trumper, Leila Zia for the Global Advocacy Team
]]> Claudia Lo, Martin Gerlach, Pablo Aragón, Diego Saez-Trumper, Leila Zia for the Global Advocacy Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Volunteer_Archetypes_v1-2024-07.pdf 2024-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Using survey methods, this project builds archetypes of non-Wikimedian volunteer internet contributors in order to support strategic decisions about whom to target for recruitment into the Movement.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Michael Raish, Tanja Andic, Sneha Patel, and Rita Ho
]]> Michael Raish, Tanja Andic, Sneha Patel, and Rita Ho https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patroller_Work_Habits_Survey_Results.pdf 2024-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

Surveying the contributions and working habits of patrollers, to better guide future efforts to aid this group.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, for the Moderator Tools Team
]]> Claudia Lo, for the Moderator Tools Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Connecting_Wikifunctions_to_Wikipedia_Opportunities_and_Challenges.pdf 2024-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study generates a comprehensive understanding of how Wikifunctions might successfully integrate into Wikipedia.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Andrew Russell Green and Amin Al Hazwani, for the Abstract Wiki team
]]> Andrew Russell Green and Amin Al Hazwani, for the Abstract Wiki team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:English-Arabic-Cross-Wiki-Uploads-April2024.pdf 2024-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

User interviews of English and Arabic Wiki uploaders were conducted to understand the experience and mindsets of those who use the visual editor upload tool, and what leads them to upload copyrighted material.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Bethany Gerdemann with Eman Yahia for the Structured Content team
]]> Bethany Gerdemann with Eman Yahia for the Structured Content team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMF_Wikipedia_Subscriptions_Survey_%26_Diary_Studies_Report_2024.pdf 2024-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

User research to study the reading and information seeking habits of internet users, and their usage of subscription services, to help inform products that can deliver Wikipedia content in novel formats.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Gabriel Escalante and Purity Waigi, for the Inuka Team
]]> Gabriel Escalante and Purity Waigi, for the Inuka Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IOS_Navigation_Refresh_Usability_Tests_(2024).pdf 2024-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

Variant testing in English, Arabic, German, and Chinese for a redesign the iOS navigation system with the goal of ensuring a seamless user experience.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Olga Tichonova, with Bethany Gerdemann and Eman Yahia for the Apps team
]]> Olga Tichonova, with Bethany Gerdemann and Eman Yahia for the Apps team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:MinT_(Machine_in_Translation)_Research 2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

The goal of this project was to understand how to better leverage MinT to support more readers and contributors in their aims of accessing, interacting with, and contributing to Wikipedia content, as well as knowledge more generally.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager in collaboration with Pau Giner and Anagram Research
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager in collaboration with Pau Giner and Anagram Research https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Non-Editing_Participation_(WMF).pdf 2024-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

Exploring the ways that people read on and off Wikipedia, and the expectations of new Wikipedia account holders for reading features.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish and Eman Yahia, for the Core Experiences teams
]]> Mike Raish and Eman Yahia, for the Core Experiences teams https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edit_Check_Sub-Saharan_Africa_(public_copy).pdf 2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

An interview study exploring the WMF Editing team's "Edit Check" tool and its reception among small- and medium-size Wikipedias in sub-Saharan Africa.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish, Sandra Abrouk, and the Editing Team
]]> Mike Raish, Sandra Abrouk, and the Editing Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Community_Configuration_interviews_with_admins.pdf 2023-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

Interviews with Wikipedia administrators about the WMF Growth team's "Community Configuration" platform.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish for the Growth team
]]> Mike Raish for the Growth team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikipedia_Wordpress_Preview_Plugin_Report_-_User_Research.pdf 2023-11-01T00:00:00.000Z

User research to learn how site owners and site readers use and interact with the Wikimedia Preview, the Wordpress plugin.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Hureo, with Eli Asikin-Garmager, Bethany Gerdemann, and the Inuka Team
]]> Hureo, with Eli Asikin-Garmager, Bethany Gerdemann, and the Inuka Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Commons_Upload_Wizard_Improvements_Research_-_27Sep23-_Preliminary_results_Summary.pdf 2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Research to understand Commons Administrators workflows, the challenges they face in moderating content, and their ideas for reducing deletions.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Bethany Gerdemann, with the Structured Content team
]]> Bethany Gerdemann, with the Structured Content team https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/0/02/20231219010653%21%28Report%29_Commons_impact_metrics_Report_Dec_2023.pdf 2023-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding affiliates data and metrics needs in the Commons space.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Daisy Chen for the Data Products team
]]> Daisy Chen for the Data Products team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Campaigns/Foundation_Product_Team/Event_Discovery 2023-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

Survey on most common and most effective campaign event discoverability pathways.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo with Bethany Gerdemann and Gregory Onyeahialam, for the Campaigns team
]]> Claudia Lo with Bethany Gerdemann and Gregory Onyeahialam, for the Campaigns team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Findings_Report_Incident_Reporting_2023.pdf 2023-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

Research exploring current harassment reporting workflows and harassment target/responder pain points on Korean and Indonesian wikis.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Daisy Chen. Requestors: Aishwarya Vardhana, Madalina Ana from Trust & Safety team.
]]> Daisy Chen. Requestors: Aishwarya Vardhana, Madalina Ana from Trust & Safety team. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/NEP_WMF_Literature_Review.pdf 2023-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

A literature review to identify ways in which users can engage with potential forms of non-editing participation, thereby increasing their interest and involvement in the Wikis.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Mike Raish, with YUX and the Core Experiences teams
]]> Mike Raish, with YUX and the Core Experiences teams https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/NEP_WMF_Literature_Review.pdf 2023-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

Recommendations based on a series of interviews to discover diverse avenues for user engagement through non-editing participation features.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Mike Raish, with YUX and the Core Experiences teams
]]> Mike Raish, with YUX and the Core Experiences teams https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:WMF_support_for_Commons/Upload_Wizard_Improvements 2023-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

A project to understand the user experience of uploading images to Commons, with the purpose of improving the upload process while reducing deletion requests...

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, with Bethany Gerdemann, Criba Research and the Structured Content team
]]> Claudia Lo, with Bethany Gerdemann, Criba Research and the Structured Content team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IP_masking_usability_tests_-_WMF_Design_Research_-_En,_Ja,_Es,_Ar.pdf 2023-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Moderated usability tests that explore the functions of an “IP Masking” prototype in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Japanese.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish with Naoko Sato, and the Growth & Core Experiences teams
]]> Mike Raish with Naoko Sato, and the Growth & Core Experiences teams https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Future_Learning_Vectors_(WMF).pdf 2023-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Interviews with educational, short-form video content creators about how, when, and why they use Wikipedia, in order to improve the quality and quantity of Wikipedia content that is disseminated to global audiences through learning-oriented video content.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Mike Raish, with Shobha S V and the Core Experiences teams
]]> Mike Raish, with Shobha S V and the Core Experiences teams https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trust_%26_Wikipedia.pdf 2023-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

An experiment to determine how embedding "trust signals" into the Wikipedia desktop interface affects understanding of how Wikipedia works and trust in its information.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Mike Raish, with Laura Stigliano and the Web team
]]> Mike Raish, with Laura Stigliano and the Web team https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Journey_transitions 2023-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project explores what and whether notable moments cause users to deepen and expand their use of and/or contributions to Wikipedia.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Daisy Chen with Mike Raish and the Core Experiences product group
]]> Daisy Chen with Mike Raish and the Core Experiences product group https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading_Wikipedia_-Full_Report-May_2023.pdf 2023-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding what readers in diverse language communities think they are doing as they read Wikipedia, their motivations for reading, the navigational structures they perceive and use, and the ways in which they interact with information.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish with YUX for the Core Experiences product group
]]> Mike Raish with YUX for the Core Experiences product group https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Translatable_Pages_Research 2023-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

Developing a better understanding of the challenges users face when creating and updating translatable pages in order to improve the user experience.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, and the Language Team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, and the Language Team urn:feed-item:21b2a39a501c6d0060216d9c48c023385c966135 2023-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

Usability tests for a feature that suggests images to experienced contributors to add to an article section.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with the Structured Content team
]]> Daisy Chen, with the Structured Content team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Page_Curation/2023_Moderator_Tools_project/Interview_research 2023-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

An interview series with English Wikipedia New Page Patrollers to develop a shared understanding of how new page patrolling works on the English Wikipedia and to identify potential areas for improvement grounded in today’s patrolling practices.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Moderator Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Moderator Tools team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Wikistories_Early_Adopters_Research 2023-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

A project about Wikistory adopters, both creators and readers, focusing on their motivations and experiences creating and sharing stories.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager and Claudia Lo
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager and Claudia Lo https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Momentum_(Design_Strategy).pdf 2022-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study test some key hypotheses: that building awareness of the brand drives more people to read our content; that by growing readership the Movement itself grows as readers are converted into content contributors; that as the community grows so does the amount and diversity of content offered; and that more, and more diverse, content attracts more readers.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Jim Maddock with Michael Raish, Mikhail Popov, Isaac Johnson, and Margeigh Novotny
]]> Jim Maddock with Michael Raish, Mikhail Popov, Isaac Johnson, and Margeigh Novotny https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Design_Strategy)_JaWiki_IP_Editing_Survey.pdf 2022-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

An inquiry into why some editors don’t log in and how they might be encouraged to through a comparative study of Arabic, Bengali, Spanish, and Japanese Wikipedias.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Michael Raish and the Growth team
]]> Michael Raish and the Growth team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(GROWTH)_Positive_Reinforcement_Synthesis.pdf 2022-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Cross-cultural feedback on approaches to Positive Reinforcement through review of static designs.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mary Grace Reich with Michael Raish and the Growth team
]]> Mary Grace Reich with Michael Raish and the Growth team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dec2022_Usabilitytest-V2DM1.pdf 2022-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Usability testing of the campaigns registration feature that enables organizers and participants to register for events on the Wiki platform.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: YUX with the Campaigns Team
]]> YUX with the Campaigns Team urn:feed-item:4ccdb408f3bcf913c7890a0af5831545746c8f63 2022-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

A project that combines usage data and in-depth interviews with Commons users to understand the current state of the platform.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Jeff Howard with Jim Maddock and Margeigh Novotny
]]> Jeff Howard with Jim Maddock and Margeigh Novotny urn:feed-item:793a39f65ae26e1b2f3acf0da5cd511022e7c797 2022-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

A project that investigates the difficulties with moderating anonymous edits and how best to mitigate those issues.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo with the Anti-Harassment Tools team urn:feed-item:b42dc72f6cf5fbaa2074f9f323ae5dca2396a4d6 2022-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

A cross country study on the internet skills, habits, and behaviors of youth in Latin America.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Ana Chang & Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society
]]> Ana Chang & Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Section_Translation_Feedback_Survey_(Final_report).pdf 2022-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Learning from the experiences of editors who used Section Translation during a Bengali Wikipedia article quality improvement competition in 2022.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager with the Language team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager with the Language team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Criba_Research_report_on_special_search_improvements.pdf 2022-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

When someone searches on Wikipedia but there isn’t an article matching their search term, they arrive at “special:search,”. This project tests new concepts for this feature with Spanish readers.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish, Daisy Chen, Sneha Patel, UserTestingArabic, and Criba Research
]]> Mike Raish, Daisy Chen, Sneha Patel, UserTestingArabic, and Criba Research https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:User_research_findings_arabic_special_search_-_usertestingarabic_wmf.pptx_1.pdf 2022-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

When someone searches on Wikipedia but there isn’t an article matching their search term, they arrive at “special:search,”. This project tests new concepts for this feature with Arabic readers.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Mike Raish, Daisy Chen, Sneha Patel, UserTestingArabic, and Criba Research
]]> Mike Raish, Daisy Chen, Sneha Patel, UserTestingArabic, and Criba Research https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3491102.3517523 2022-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This work identifies three key challenges: 1) empirically determining which metrics from community approaches most impact reader trust; 2) validating indicator placements and designs; and 3) demonstrating that such indicators can both lower trust and increase perceived trust in the system when appropriate.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Andrew Kuznetsov, Margeigh Novotny, Jessica Klein, Diego Saez-Trumper, Aniket Kittur
]]> Andrew Kuznetsov, Margeigh Novotny, Jessica Klein, Diego Saez-Trumper, Aniket Kittur urn:feed-item:f84ee98f8d76d84ccb633d90e9a6a31a371deb5e 2022-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

A collaboration between the WMF and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society to research the internet habits, preferences, and beliefs of youth across Latin America.

Initiative: Research & Development]]> https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/readability-on-wp/ 2022-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

A literature review of the web factors that affect text readability on the internet.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Taryn Bipat
]]> Taryn Bipat https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/content-mod-medium-wikis/ 2022-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project aims to fill knowledge gaps in our understanding of how editors curate and moderate content on Wikimedia projects outside the largest and most well-researched communities.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, with Sam Walton and the Moderator Tools pilot team
]]> Claudia Lo, with Sam Walton and the Moderator Tools pilot team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UX_Research_Campaigns_Event_Organizers.pdf 2022-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

This exploratory research project focused on organizations in four african countries to learn about the particular challenges faced event organizers and the strategies they have developed to succeed in growing their communities.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: YUX with the Campaigns team
]]> YUX with the Campaigns team https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/sectionx-thai/ 2022-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

Section Translation brings translation support to mobile device editors, and this project provided usability testing after a number of initial tool improvements and at a time when it was becoming available in a greater number of wikis, including Thai Wikipedia.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Teak Research and the Language team.
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Teak Research and the Language team. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikifunctions-usability-bangla-report.pdf 2022-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

Usability testing of Wikifunctions prototype with Bangla speaking programmers and developers.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: UserHub with Aishwarya Vardhana and Daisy Chen
]]> UserHub with Aishwarya Vardhana and Daisy Chen https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/wikistories-africa/ 2022-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

This work provides a method for visualizing and comparing topical coverage from one wiki project to another for the purpose of better understanding where knowledge gaps and subject matter expertise exist across the Free Knowledge Movement.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Qhala Digital Consultancy, the Inuka Team, and Wikistories Team.
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Qhala Digital Consultancy, the Inuka Team, and Wikistories Team. https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/wikistories-indonesia/ 2022-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

The goal of this project was to collaborate with Wikimedia Indonesia and gather feedback from Indonesian wiki editor communities on early concepts and designs for WikiStories, focusing on the experience of potential WikiStory creators.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Ari Natarina.
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Ari Natarina. https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/communications-mentorship/ 2021-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

Understanding the wiki-related communications ecosystem, both on and off Wiki, that embedded community members employ for their Wiki related work.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Daisy Chen, with the Growth and Editing teams
]]> Daisy Chen, with the Growth and Editing teams https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/sx-entry-points/ 2021-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

Improving discoverability of translation tools on Wikipedia.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Pau Giner, Anagram Research, and the Language team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Pau Giner, Anagram Research, and the Language team https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/digital-spaces/ 2021-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project combined conversations with WMF employees and global volunteers with a literature review to support the internal conversation around the Digital Spaces // Topical Neighborhoods proposal.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Michael Raish
]]> Michael Raish https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/media-matching/ 2021-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

Conducted in support of the WMF Structured Data team, Media Matching attempted to identify barriers faced by experienced editors in English, Arabic, and Japanese Wikipedias.

Initiative: Research & Development Lead: Michael Raish, with the Structured Data team, Community Ambassadors and Project Kobo
]]> Michael Raish, with the Structured Data team, Community Ambassadors and Project Kobo https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Universal_Code_of_Conduct/2021_consultations/Research 2021-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

In order to support the Universal Code of Conduct’s phase 2 drafting committee, the Wikimedia Foundation has conducted a research project focused on experiences of harassment on Wikimedia projects.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/wikimail/ 2021-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

An analysis of community initiatives regarding Wikimail abuse over the past five years and general perspectives on harassment.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Jeff Howard
]]> Jeff Howard https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Long_Tail_Topic_Ontology 2021-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

This work provides a method for visualizing and comparing topical coverage from one wiki project to another for the purpose of better understanding where knowledge gaps and subject matter expertise exist across the Free Knowledge Movement.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration]]> https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/emerging-education/ 2021-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

Qualitative research examining the perspectives on the future of education from experts, students, teachers, and parents.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Ana Chang, with AfriqInsights
]]> Ana Chang, with AfriqInsights https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/verifiability-on-wp/ 2021-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This three-language study provides foundational understanding for how editors work with available resources to meet the standards required for article quality.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Ana Chang, with Sam Walton (WMF), Spiegel Institut, and Wikipedia Library team
]]> Ana Chang, with Sam Walton (WMF), Spiegel Institut, and Wikipedia Library team https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/wikifunctions/ 2021-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

A study that collects feedback on the function-builder prototype from technical users, nontechnical users, and those from outside of the Wikimedia ecosystem.

Initiative: Research & Development]]> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Section_Translation_Usability_Testing_(Bengali_Wikipedia) 2021-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

Many Wikipedia contributors edit articles via mobile devices. Section Translation brings translation support to mobile device editors, and this project provided usability testing as the tool became available in the first wiki.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Language team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Language team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DIP_Collated_FInal_Reports.pdf 2021-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project tests the concept of a sticky header and the table of contents element as a part of a reader-focused desktop interface improvement initiative by the Web team.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with Criba Research, Urika Research, and Monafina F Silitonga
]]> Daisy Chen, with Criba Research, Urika Research, and Monafina F Silitonga https://design.wikimedia.org/strategy/wikifunctions.html 2021-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

A study that collects feedback on the function-builder prototype from technical users, nontechnical users, and those from outside of the Wikimedia ecosystem.

Initiative: undefined Lead: Jeff Howard
]]> Jeff Howard urn:feed-item:0dda0a46c6c434f13b02f7d21e469e3189d7dcb3 2021-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

A taxonomy of negative social interactions on Wiki projects and a methodology to prioritize those in need of intervention.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team urn:feed-item:94e079d7cc17f19c7741c662581c236993af0e5a 2021-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

A collaboration to map the different types of group decision-making required to manage and improve a crowd-sourced content platform like Wikipedia and understand contributor communities as discrete social groups.

Initiative: Research & Development]]> https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/kaios/ 2020-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

This research evaluates usability and user understanding of the basic app elements and workflows for the Wikipedia KaiOS app.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with Hureo and the Inuka team
]]> Daisy Chen, with Hureo and the Inuka team https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/multilingual-editor-x/ 2020-11-01T00:00:00.000Z

Supporting multilingual editors in small Wikipedias who are leveraging translation to contribute across knowledge and content gaps.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Anagram Research and the Language team
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Anagram Research and the Language team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IP_Editing:_Privacy_Enhancement_and_Abuse_Mitigation/IP_Info_feature#25_Mar,_2021 2020-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

A study of how patrollers handle edits by logged-out users, and what pieces of information from IP addresses are necessary for their work in maintaining the overall health and quality of Wikimedia projects.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/IP_Editing:_Privacy_Enhancement_and_Abuse_Mitigation/CheckUser_Improvements 2020-10-01T00:00:00.000Z

Past research and Steward feedback surfaced many pain points in the CheckUser extension, the tool used by moderators to reverse vandalism of articles. These are multiple iterative rounds of usability tests of the enhanced tool.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team urn:feed-item:05e22ee039e8982ef263e0201ab0bb91343fc75d 2020-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

The goal of this work is to develop systems for automatically detecting and characterizing the editorial debates behind Wikipedia articles for the purpose of surfacing indications of trustworthiness to the reader. This project is a collaboration between the Wikimedia Foundation and the CMU Human Computer Interaction Institute.

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Andrew Kuznetsov of the Carnegie Mellon Human Computer Interaction Institute, with Margeigh Novotny
]]> Andrew Kuznetsov of the Carnegie Mellon Human Computer Interaction Institute, with Margeigh Novotny urn:feed-item:47e6e747872202d04aec7d9f273fca7f35d8f5c7 2020-08-01T00:00:00.000Z

Researchers are analyzing which types of cues work best to help readers understand the true quality of an article and scraping talk pages for the signals and inferences that can drive these cues.

Initiative: Research & Development]]> https://design.wikimedia.org/blog/2020/07/30/content-moderation-anti-vandalism-wikipedia.html 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

An overview of how a global community of volunteer moderators determine which contributions to Wikipedia are accepted and rejected.

Initiative: Powered by People]]> https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:How_News_Media_Orgs_Use_Wikipedia_Working_Paper_30_June_2020.pdf 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

A literature review that seeks to understand more about how and why media and news organizations use Wikipedia.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Anna Rader
]]> Anna Rader https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interpersonal_communication_and_coordination_in_Wikipedia_Working_Paper_30_June_2020.pdf 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

A review of the available academic literature on interpersonal communication and coordination within the Wikipedia community, in particular the role of talk pages in creating and maintaining Wikipedia’s content.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Anna Rader
]]> Anna Rader https://design.wikimedia.org/blog/2020/07/30/content-moderation-anti-vandalism-wikipedia.html 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

An overview of how a global community of volunteer moderators determine which contributions to Wikipedia are accepted and rejected.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with Lucy Blackwell
]]> Claudia Lo, with Lucy Blackwell https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/MTMHP_Executive_Summary.pdf 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

The Machine Translation Meets Human Perception (MTMHP) study developed a protocol for evaluating how readers perceive and evaluate machine-translated content - across three different languages, cultural contexts, and content domains.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Michael Raish, with Hureo and Bethany Gerdemann
]]> Michael Raish, with Hureo and Bethany Gerdemann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(Android)_Suggested_Edits_v5_(June_2020)_Final_Report.pdf 2020-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project addresses user difficulties using and understanding the Contributions screens as part of the Section Editing feature.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with the Android App Team
]]> Daisy Chen, with the Android App Team https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Personas_for_product_development 2020-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This is a collection of all personas developed to date for desktop and mobile readers, new and veteran contributors, institutional curators and Movement organizers.

Initiative: Powered by People]]> https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/check-user/ 2020-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

CheckUser is a critical tool for moderators in anti-vandalism efforts on Wikipedia. This research surfaces the pain points in the CheckUser workflow and opportunities to improve the tool.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Content_Translation_Newcomer_Survey,_India_2020 2020-04-01T00:00:00.000Z

A customizable survey that can be used to easily, quickly, and reliably collect feedback from a more diverse pool of Content Translation users.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Pau Giner and Amir E. Aharoni
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with Pau Giner and Amir E. Aharoni https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/section-translation/ 2020-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

An evaluation of new designs for tools that help editors translate article sections and receive translation support on mobile devices.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Language team and Pau Giner
]]> Eli Asikin-Garmager, with the Language team and Pau Giner https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/why-do-people-edit-wikipedia/ 2020-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

This literature review examines the drivers of engagement and the motivators of sustained involvement in Wikipedia. It provides an overview of academic research on Wikipedia production and editor motivations, highlighting the themes and queries of scholarship in this area.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Anna Rader
]]> Anna Rader https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Remote_Worker_Experience%2C_All-hands_2020.pdf 2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This is a lean, inward-facing research project that surfaced the challenges and highlights of working remotely for the Foundation and offered opportunities for the Foundation and non-remote staff to improve the work lives and for its globally distributed staff.

Initiative: Powered by People]]> https://research.wikimedia.org/uxr/projects/desktop-improvements/ 2020-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study seeks to understand the experience and sentiment of new and casual readers on Wikipedia.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with Hureo and the Readers Web team
]]> Daisy Chen, with Hureo and the Readers Web team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Android_Microcontributions_Phase1%262_Findings_Report.pdf 2019-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

This research studies the factors that motivate and retain Wikipedia editors who use the section editor tool on the Android app.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with the Android team and Robin Schoenbaechler
]]> Daisy Chen, with the Android team and Robin Schoenbaechler urn:feed-item:25cd76cce870637c7c26eea7654db5d109098e69 2019-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

This initiative, lead by Neil Shah-Quinn, established a baseline for comparing key characteristics of 732 wiki projects (number of editors, amount of content, readers, readers by platform, etc).

Initiative: Numeric Exploration Lead: Neil Shah-Quinn
]]> Neil Shah-Quinn https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Patrolling_on_Wikipedia 2019-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

Content integrity on Wikipedia relies on editors who patrol articles and respond to vandalism. This research brings to light the workflows of editors who patrol on Wikipedia(s) and the tools used in the course of their work.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Jonathan Morgan
]]> Jonathan Morgan https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_health_initiative/Administrator_Confidence_Survey 2019-09-01T00:00:00.000Z

An inquiry into the unique challenges faced by volunteer administrators in conflict resolution situations and what types of resources would be most beneficial to this work.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Michael Raish, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team
]]> Michael Raish, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:IP_masking_impact_report 2019-07-01T00:00:00.000Z

An examination of how edits by users who have not logged-in effect administrator workflows.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team movement-organizers.html 2019-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

The Movement Organizer Study sought to understand the life cycle of contributors by documenting paths, practices, challenges, and risks faced by successful organizers throughout the Free Knowledge.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Abbey Ripstra, The Community Engagement Team, and Ana Chang of Concept Hatchery
]]> Abbey Ripstra, The Community Engagement Team, and Ana Chang of Concept Hatchery https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:(SDAW)_Search_on_Commons_Research_Report_(June_2020).pdf 2019-06-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project tests usability of prototypes and captures users’ expectations and desires in their search experiences on the wikis.

Initiative: Sentiment & Perception Lead: Daisy Chen, with the Structured Data Team
]]> Daisy Chen, with the Structured Data Team https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Ethical_and_human-centered_AI 2019-05-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project identfies challenges and emerging opportunities to leverage AI technologies to further the mission of Wikimedia.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Jonathan Morgan
]]> Jonathan Morgan https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Arabic_Harassment_Netnography 2019-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study aimed to establish a baseline understanding of the frequency of harassment, trolling, and threatening communicative practices on Arabic Wikipedia, to explore the effects of these practices on editing and community health, and to guide future investigation and strategic decisions for the Anti-Harassment Tools team.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Mike Raish, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team
]]> Mike Raish, with the Anti-Harassment Tools Team https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reporting_Systems_Rubric,_Summary.pdf 2019-02-01T00:00:00.000Z

A review of best practices in reporting systems for disputes and abuse across different platforms.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior]]> urn:feed-item:bb8e4d1d7fa6e04b8f2545272ea2e717b1d077ef 2018-12-01T00:00:00.000Z

An investigation into one of the most common tasks performed by stewards, global locks of suspected spambots that are active across multiple wikis.

Initiative: Online Social Behavior Lead: Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team
]]> Claudia Lo, with the Anti-Harassment Tools team https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/File:Augmentation.pdf 2018-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This is a position piece developed by Wikimedia Foundation to frame the potential of machine-in-the-loop technologies in making all the world's knowledge available to all, and to ensure the process to assemble that knowledge is inclusive, balanced and safe.

Initiative: Machine Augmentation Lead: Wikimedia Foundation, with David Goldberg
]]> Wikimedia Foundation, with David Goldberg https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Product/Contribution_taxonomy 2018-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project details the workflow of contributors and assesses the level of difficulty they encounter with each step in the workflow in order to understand what contributes to editors' retention or burn-out.

Initiative: Powered by People]]> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/New_Editor_Experiences 2017-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study sought to understand the experiences, needs and challenges of new editors on midsize Wikipedias with the goal of learning how best to support and retain them.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Wikimedia Foundation, with Reboot
]]> Wikimedia Foundation, with Reboot https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Foundation_and_Reboot_New_Readers_Research_-_Nigeria_%26_India_Highlights_-_July_2016.pdf 2016-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This study sought to understand potential Wikimedia readers in countries where access to the internet is quickly growing.

Initiative: Powered by People Lead: Wikimedia Foundation, with Reboot
]]> Wikimedia Foundation, with Reboot https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Contribution_Taxonomy_Project 2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

This project creates a taxonomy of the contributions made by Wikimedia communities, measure the contributions in that taxonomy, and elicit trends in volunteer contributions to the projects.

Initiative: Powered by People]]>