The original Diff blog post is in Japanese language by Kizhiya

Eina, Takaka, Shiro-Buncho (pseudonyms）, From the standpoint of each

Misato Observatory, Kimino Town, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, Via Wikimedia Commons.

Interview Summary

Wikimedians of Japan User Group conducted a survey of Japanese Wikipedia participants from the end of October to November 2023. Looking at the results, the first thing we notice is the small number of women. Therefore, we interviewed mainly female participants this time. Four people responded, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. The first part of this article introduces the responses of the three collaborators.

Research Background	There are not enough female participants. (Is there anything we can do to follow up in the user group?)
Purpose of the Survey	Ask female participants individually for specific details (stories) about the ease and difficulty of participating in the Japanese Wikipedia.
Research task	Examine female participants’ “motivation” to participate in JAWP and their dissatisfaction with the program.
Survey items	Regarding motivation. * Why I joined the first time. Incidents. * What I enjoy about writing articles. Potential difficulties in participation * Are the guides and rules easy to understand? * How to research materials. * Whether the people around the participant will view the experience favorably. Discontent * Specific complaints * Things I didn’t like

Interview Details

• The interviewer was Kizhiya, and the interview was conducted online in May-June 2024.
• In summarizing: Three of the four interviewees are presented under pseudonyms to protect their privacy. Also, slight modifications have been made to the facts in terms of place of residence, age, and editorial coverage.

Pre-interview hypothesis

We came up with ‘hypotheses for the lack of women’. Here are some of the main hypotheses.

1. There are differences between men and women in the way they use their time in a day. Women, in particular, spend their time on housework, childcare, caregiving, and many other areas outside of work and study, making it difficult for them to take time to concentrate on writing and contributing. In 2016, men averaged 368 minutes of “work” and 44 minutes of “housework, childcare, care, etc.” per day. On the other hand, women “work” 215 minutes and “housework, childcare, care, etc.” 219 minutes.
   • See “Changes in Time Spent on Housework, Childcare, and Nursing Care and Time Spent at Work, etc., by Gender (Overall Average Weekly Hours) (by Age Group, 1976→2008).https://www.gender.go.jp/about_danjo/whitepaper/r02/zentai/html/zuhyo/zuhyo01-00-01.html
   • (This survey is based on the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ Basic Social Survey, 2008.https://www.stat.go.jp/data/shakai/2016/gaiyou.html)
2. Gender differences in higher education.
   • In the 2019 academic year, the percentage of female students at universities and graduate schools was 45.4%, 31.6%, and 33.7% for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs, respectively, indicating that the percentage of female students is lower than that of male students.
   • Reference: “Basic School Survey, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology: Summary of Results for the 2028 Fiscal Year”. https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20191220-mxt_chousa01-000003400_1.pdf ,P2)
3. Other possibilities include differences in physical fitness between men and women.

Are there any influences around you?

This time, we asked them if they had disclosed to their friends and family that they are Wikipedia contributors, to see if there was any understanding or influence from those around them in their continued contributions to Wikipedia. All three of them said that they had not disclosed to friends or family in particular. The only exception was Eina, who continues to edit about Japanese actors, who told the actors at events.

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It’s fun to add a little more information one by one.　

1st person: Eina (pseudonym)

Eina (pseudonym) is a housewife in her thirties living in Eastern Japan. She has been a member of the Japanese Wikipedia for less than 15 years and edits 2-3 times a week. Her main writing genre is “Japanese Actors”.

In the survey, respondents indicated their motivation for participating in Wikipedia as follows (select)

1. I’d to see the level of attention and reaction to the articles I have edited and written
2. I’d like to fix the wrong information
3. I like to edit and write articles.

The trigger was that I found a mistake in Wikipedia.

—— Tell us about the first time you participated.

Eina:I had been reading Wikipedia when I was doing research before I joined the project. When I carefully read the articles of actors I liked at the time, I found something that I thought was not right. I decided to rewrite the article myself, and that is how I started editing it.

—— Was the editing process easy to understand?

The page on how to edit was hard to find. At first, the administrator pointed out quite a few mistakes. Then I referred to other people’s edits. I didn’t even know about “The Five Pillars” until recently.

—— Do your family and friends know that you’re a Wikipedian?

Eina: My family don’t know, but I have told one actor that I wrote an article about him.

—— Are you a direct acquaintance?

Eina: No. At an event, I happened to have an opportunity to speak to him, and I told him about it.

—— Was he pleased?

Eina: He was pleased, but surprised.

—— What part of the article writing phase do you enjoy?

Eina: I have been writing articles about some of my favorite actors. It’s where I can gradually add more information. I edit it to say the show s/he appeared in, or that s/he appeared in such-and-such drama in the past, and then after a while, I add more, like, “Next, s/he will be in this drama,” and so on. It is fun to make the articles grow. I also like to write about unexpected things, such as “S/he have such and such skills and qualifications. Recently, I added an article about an actor whose activities outside of his main job had not been written about. When I like something, I’d like to write about it intensively. Wikipedia has a lot of people who look at it, and it is very rewarding.

Facts are more important than opinions

—— Can you tell us about how you gather materials?

Eina: Mainly online news articles. I look for them on the websites of general newspapers such as sports newspapers and Asahi newspapers.

—— Do you have a blog, etc.?

Eina: A blog is a place to write subjective thoughts and opinions. There is a difference between subjective and objective. My focus is on objective information. I would rather put out information as it is than opinions.

—— Do you have any complaints about the editing process?

Eina：It is still frustrating that long articles written with great care are sometimes deleted in large numbers. The reason for the deletion is that it is not necessary for the article. I understand the argument of the person who deleted the article, but there were many times when I thought the deletion was too much. This has happened to me once or twice in the past. I would like to avoid an editing war. If the other person seems to be trying to make a point, I will pull back. Also, if possible, I would like the point of view to be stated in the form of a comment out.

—— Writing articles for Wikipedia is volunteer work. What do you generally think of when you hear the word “volunteer”?

Eina: Volunteering in general is not about seeking remuneration. Volunteering is something that you do with the thought, “I don’t mind if I don’t get paid for it. As for Wikipedia, I consider my participation to be a reward in itself.

—— Thank you very much for your time today.

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Maintain an interest in those in need. —— From the standpoint of pursuing a research career and as a volunteer

2nd person: Takaka (pseudonym)

Takaka (pseudonym) is a university student in her 20s, living in western Japan. She hopes to become a researcher in the future. She has been a member of the Japanese Wikipedia for about three years and edits about once every six months. Her main genre of writing is “Geography and infrastructure of Southwestern Europe”.

Takaka responded to the survey by selecting her editorial motivation as follows

1. To create the world’s largest encyclopedia
2. To spread free knowledge to the world
3. Because there are things I want people to know
4. As an act of philanthropy

For the question about motivation, respondents were asked to choose freely from 16 options, including “other. Those who chose “to spread free knowledge” ranked 6th out of 16 options with 23.6%, those who chose “as a charitable act” ranked 8th with 22.7%, and those who chose “to create the world’s largest encyclopedia” ranked 10th with 20.0%. Takaka answered all of these questions for the purpose of public benefit.

See the figure below for motivation by all respondents at the time of the survey.

Survey of Japanese Wikipedia editors in 2023。「Q13．Let us know what motivates you to edit the Japanese Wikipedia」 Wikimedians of Japan User Group, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, Via Wikimedia Commons

From the standpoint of pursuing a research career

—— First of all, what happened when you created your account and edited?

Takaka:I was researching small cities in southwestern Europe on the Japanese Wikipedia when I realized that there was not much information available in Japanese. Since I can speak the language of the country, I decided to start trying to translate it.

—— How was it when you actually started?

Takaka:  I am pursuing a research career. I have many opportunities to write papers and describe sources, so I was able to participate rather easily. I really like Wikipedia’s policy of writing sources properly. I am not good at wiki grammar itself yet, but I appreciate that there is both a source editor and a visual editor. It’s hard to read if I only use the source editor.

——We often hear that contributors did not know where to find guides and help at first. Did you have easy access?

Takaka:  To be honest, there are some aspects that are not well established, but I understood them naturally as I continued to contribute.

—— What do you enjoy about the article writing phase?

Takaka: In order to write an article about something I don’t know, I have to do some proper research. Research, especially finding out information that I did not know, is an enjoyable experience. At the same time, there is the pleasure of having someone else read it. Wikipedia articles, in particular, appear at the top or at the top of search engines. Writing for Wikipedia” means “being read by a lot of people,” and I think that makes me happy. That is also my motivation for editing.

—— How do you find materials? 

Takaka: I look into information online.

—— Since it is a foreign country and not so famous place or matter, I wonder if it is difficult to find the actual data in Japan.

Takaka：With paper books, it’s inconvenient because I can’t do a full-text search with “Control + F” and e-books don’t allow me to get the book in my head. So, in the end, all the information is sourced from online searches. I don’t actually read the academic papers. I do read them in class, though. In most of the fields I edit on Wikipedia, that much information is unnecessary.

It’s not just Wikipedia that has few women.

—— Do you have any hypothesis about the lack of women among Wikipedia participants?

Takaka：There are not many women, not only in Wikipedia, but also those heading toward academia, legislators, etc. On the contrary, there are many women bloggers and YouTubers. I think there are many women when it comes to fields where they can use their own sense of style. In the case of Wikipedia, you are expected to write based on verifiable sources rather than your own opinions and sense. Editing to source credible information is difficult unless you have some education. It is not necessarily taught by attending a university, and conversely, it is not necessary to be a university graduate, but it may be difficult for those who do not understand the basics of academic research anyway.

——Depending on the field of writing and how you contribute, I think some education is necessary when it comes to writing articles for Wikipedia.

Takaka：In my opinion, what the Wikipedia side can do in the current situation is to attract women with higher education. Rather than welcoming everyone, I think we need to attract those who share our values, who have a good understanding of basic Wikipedia values and who also say that they can do it too. Also, I think people don’t know that they can create an account on Wikipedia for free and write on it. The wider the gateway to entry, the better. For example, you can start by correcting typos. We could also consider putting up a header banner on the Wikipedia site itself to recruit participants.

Wikipedia as a volunteer

—— During the survey, you chose “as an act of charity” when asked about motivation. What are your thoughts on volunteering?

Takaka：Regardless of Wikipedia, volunteering in general does not seem to be popular in Japan. I would like to see more active volunteer activities, whether it be donations or contributions. Those who can afford it and have the ability should volunteer as a “noble duty”（日本語版ウィキペディア『ノブレス・オブリージュ』） (Japanese Wikipedia, “Noblesse oblige”), but then what about those who cannot afford it that much? For example, there are actions you can take for free, such as calling for help with a hashtag on X (formerly Twitter). The most core of volunteering is ‘keeping interest’. As long as you can do that, any way to contribute may be fine. For example, imagine that tomorrow you might be involved in a war. In this way, I think it is important to continue to be concerned about those in need and those less fortunate.

—— Thank you for your time today.

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I don’t know how to do research

3rd person: Shiro-Buncho (pseudonym)

Shiro-Buncho（pseudonym） is in her early twenties and lives in the Kanto area. She has been participating in the Japanese Wikipedia for less than one year and edits only once every three months, so she is still a new participant. According to the survey, her motivation for participating is “5. to make use of my knowledge and skills.

For my own study

—— First of all, please tell us what it was like when you joined the Japanese Wikipedia.

Shiro-Buncho: Dokusho-saru recommended editing Wikipedia, so I thought I would join. I started with the hope that it would be a good learning experience for me.

《※　Dokusho-saru: Japanese writer and influencer日本語版ウィキペディア「読書猿」》

—— Did you use Wikipedia?

Shiro-Buncho: Actually, I haven’t read much.

—— You have just joined us, how is it?

Shiro-Buncho: I try to look at how to do it and the editing policy, but it is difficult. It’s also difficult to find out how to do research, and I’m not very good at writing, so I can’t do much editing.

—— For example, would it be good to have an instructional video on how to write?

Shiro-Buncho: I don’t know Wikipedia notation, but first of all, I don’t know how to properly summarize what I have researched, like how to write a report, so I don’t think a video would help much.

—— As for researching, there are many ways to do so, such as going to the library to look things up, and also, looking things up on the Internet news. If you like manga, do you think it would be good if there is a manga version of how to research materials?

Shiro-Buncho: I think so. But texts are fine.

I’m worried that I might be blocked soon.

—— What concerns do you have about participation?

Shiro-Buncho: I often read the notes page of articles. When I read the note page, some people write things like “I was blocked for unjustified reasons”. So I am worried that I might be blocked soon. It is not that I have been told something directly.

—— I understand your anxiety. I will send you links to guides and policies so that you can try them out a little at a time. Thank you very much for your time today.

Continued in the second half https://diff.wikimedia.org/ja/?p=129807