Research:Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011 FAQ

This page presents a list of frequently asked questions about the Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011 that is being conducted by the Wikimedia Foundation. If you have any questions and concerns about the survey, please share your feedback with us.

The survey is currently being translated. If you speak another language and would like to help, we would love your help translating.

Contact

Mani Pande & Ayush Khanna

Wikimedia Foundation

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Research:Projects

This page documents a completed research project.

General Questions

Why is the Wikimedia Foundation conducting a survey of Wikipedia mobile readers?

We are conducting the survey of Wikipedia Mobile readers with the following objectives in mind:

• Gather baseline demographic data about mobile Wikipedia readers: geography, gender, age, education, income etc.
• Look at the profile differences and behavioral patterns of Internet Wikipedia readers v/s mobile Wikipedia readers.
• Understand the contexts when mobile devices are used. Specifically gather data on how users read Wikipedia on their phone & compare across other similar activities.
• Gain a broad understanding of how Wikipedia users access, read, search, consume, and otherwise use Wikipedia content on mobile devices.
• Identify notable behaviors, preferences, barriers, mobile + data services / brands / platforms, and content delivery that can help bolster Wikipedia’s mobile growth.
• Understand the needs and opportunities for mobile accessibility and development that can be extended to Wikipedia’s entire community and users.
• Highlight critical user experience needs and opportunities. Prioritize features to ensure actionable collaboration with Wikipedia’s mobile business, design and development teams.

What is the methodology? Why are we not conducting the survey on our website?

The survey will be a 15-20 minute online survey. The survey will be conducted on our website. The survey is aimed towards Wikipedia readers who read Wikipedia on their mobile. We will be screening for mobile readers.

What does the survey cover?

The survey will be conducted with a focus on the following 11 countries (35 countries in total): United States, Brazil, India, Japan, Turkey, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Egypt, and China. In addition to English, the survey will be translated into the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. The total sample size for the study is up to 18000 respondents with a sample of n=750 per language and a minimum of n=1000 for United States, Brazil and India and a minimum of n=500 for the remaining countries. Participants will be between 14 and 99 years of age.

Why is the Foundation conducting in the survey in the following countries? What about the countries that are not being surveyed?

The Foundation has had to make some tough decisions on languages and countries. The countries were selected based on three criteria: mobile phone penetration, number of page views and strategic importance as per the strategic plan.

Who is conducting the survey?

The survey will be fielded at the beginning of August. The Foundation has hired Resolve Market Research to conduct the survey. Resolve is working with the Foundation in the design of the questionnaire; they are responsible for the questionnaire development and execution, data cleaning and initial analysis. At the Foundation, Mani Pande, Head of Global Development Research, is the primary contact for the survey.

How will the survey data be handled? What about privacy?

The survey data will be anonymized and analyzed collectively. No response will be associated with an individual participant.

Will the report and other information from the mobile survey be shared?

Yes, the report from the mobile survey will be available on Meta-Wiki when it is ready. We will also do a series of blog posts to share interesting insights from the study. Data files in a CSV format will also be shared with researchers who are interested in conducting additional analysis.

How can I provide feedback?

We have posted the draft of the readership survey on Meta-Wiki. We are hoping that the community will provide its feedback to the questions/questionnaire. Please feel free to copy edit the questions as long as it does not change the meaning of the question. Please provide your feedback at Research talk:Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011. The deadline for providing feedback to the questionnaire is Tuesday, July 26, 2011.

Survey Design

Who designed the survey, and how?

The Wikimedia Foundation designed the survey, along with Resolve Market Research. We also received internal input from the Foundation, and are looking for input from the community in the design of the survey.

How can I design and help improve the survey?

Please feel free to copy edit the survey as long as it does not change the meaning of the questions. If you believe that we are missing some important questions, please provide feedback via the feedback space that has been set up on Meta-Wiki at Research talk:Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011. If you believe we are off the mark regarding some questions, please provide your feedback.

What is the methodology for the survey? Why is the survey limited to the following countries and languages only?

It is an online survey that will be conducted in 16 countries that account for about 70 percent of Wikipedia page views. Each country will have a sample size of about 250. Resolve Market Research is using a sample provider for getting the sample for the survey. The countries were chosen based on strategic importance and page views. Due to financial reasons, we had to limit the number of countries where we can conduct the survey. But we will rotate the countries in each iteration of the survey to get insights from new countries each time.

For a full list of countries where the survey will be visible. Please check out this wiki page.

Survey Implementation

How will the survey be implemented?

It is an online survey that will be conducted in 35 countries. The countries were chosen based on strategic importance and page views.

Will the referencing strike be tracked?

No IP address will be stored.

Will unfinished survey be saved? Will the answers be completed?

Yes, unfinished surveys will be saved. We will share toplines/frequencies based on completed surveys. But we will share data from unfinished surveys also.

How is the survey being translated?

We will be employing the help of the community in the translation process. Translation will take place on Meta-Wiki as well, at Research:Wikipedia Mobile Readers Survey 2011/Translation.

Is the survey covered by the Wikimedia Foundation’s privacy policies?

By taking the survey, you allow us to use your responses and comments for analysis and research, and you agree to donate them in the public domain. This means that your responses and comments are freely accessible and public. We may share your responses and comments with researchers and others. However, within the confines of the law, we will not include your name, address, telephone number, or email information with respect to responses and comments that we share publicly.

Who will have access to the raw data? Will the raw data be shared publicly?

When we say "raw data," we mean the actual original forms received in the survey (and not later compilations or aggregates of that data). The Foundation will have access to this raw data to conduct analysis. We may share your responses and comments with researchers and others. However, within the confines of the law, we will not specifically include your name, address, telephone number, or email information with respect to responses and comments that we share publicly.

How long will the data be kept?

At a minimum the data will be kept for about two years to look at longitudinal trends in Wikipedia mobile readership. We may keep the data longer to track longer trends.

What do you mean by anonymized?

We cannot guarantee that all public disclosure of data will be truly "anonymized" - that is, we cannot guarantee that third parties would be unable to identify you through the comments and responses that you provide. However, within the confines of the law, we will not specifically include your name, address, telephone number, or email information with respect to responses and comments that we share publicly.