Wikipedia Exhibition 2024 Report Vol. 1“Less than 30% have editing experience, but interest in participating in events is high”

[Editor’s note: This post was originally published in Japanese in February]

Soseki’s Cat founded “edit Tango” in February 2019, participated in Wikipedia Town events across Japan, and has been active as an editor, instructor, and planning advisor. In September 2022, launched the “Wikipedia Exhibition” project focused on the Library Comprehensive Exhibition. In December 2023, published a guidebook for Wikipedia Town events, “Revitalizing Town with Wikipedia: Creating a Local Encyclopedia Together,” from Kinokuniya Bookstore.

Since 2023, the “Wikipedia Exhibition,” organized by Soseki’s Cat and other volunteer Wikipedians, has been conducting a “Wikipedia Awareness Survey” among the general public. The survey consists of 10 questions, and after answering, participants can optionally take a 30-question multiple-choice quiz. The correct answers are displayed after submission. It allows participants to deepen their knowledge of Wikipedia.

The first survey, conducted from October 24 to November 15, 2023, received responses from 350 participants. The results showed that 99.1% of participants answered that they “have read Wikipedia,” and 96% were aware that “Wikipedia is content that anyone can edit.” However, when asked, “Would you like to edit Wikipedia?”
approximately 24% answered “No,” indicating a difference in interest in editing.
For more details, please refer to this article.

(“Wikipedia Exhibition 2024” by Soseki’s Cat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The second survey was conducted over three days from November 5 to 7, 2024, and 245 responses were collected. This article introduces the main responses. The breakdown of respondents was 35.5% male and 62.4% female. The age and occupation of respondents varied widely. However, since the survey was conducted at a conference venue for library and information science, the proportion of library staff, people working in information and media companies, and those involved in education at universities and high schools was higher than an average. Approximately 20% of respondents were minors, almost all of them were university students.
Among the respondents, 80.7% knew that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and 94.6% knew that anyone can edit it.

Library Comprehensive Exhibition Forum “Wikipedia Exhibition” Report No. 1　Survey Results on Wikipedia Editing

First, the main responses to the multiple-choice question,

“Have you ever edited Wikipedia?” were as follows:

• Never edited … 67.3%
• Tried clicking the edit button … 10.1%
• Made corrections when noticing errors while reading an article … 12.7%
• I add information that is not in an existing article … 12.3%
• I add or correct information in an existing article if I think it is insufficient or incorrect … 11.1%

Only about 30% (32.7%) of respondents have actually edited Wikipedia, indicating that most people have no editing experience. On the other hand, it is clear that a certain number of people actively edit by “correcting mistakes when reading articles” or “adding missing information.”

（“Wikipedia Exhibition 2024” by Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons）

Off-line events where Wikipedia editing is done by face-to-face are not necessarily aimed to Wikimedia outreach activities, but editing events (such as Wikipedia Town) that provide opportunities to experience or learn Wikipedia editing are held dozens of times a year throughout Japan. How much interest in participating in such editing events do people with no editing experience have? We asked this question with multiple answers, and the main responses were as follows.

• I would like to participate if it is nearby … 43.8%
• I would like to participate if the content or location is appealing … 30.5%
• I would like to participate if it is online … 22.9％

Approximately 40% of respondents said they would like to participate if it were nearby. Additionally, about 30% said they would participate depending on the content or location, indicating that a significant number of people are interested in participating in Wikipedia editing events under certain conditions.

Approximately 20% expressed interest in online participation, suggesting that physical distance is not a major barrier to participation.

A thorough analysis of perceptions of Wikipedia! — Insights from the voices of 245 users

Wikipedia is a familiar source of information for many people. However, perceptions and usage vary among users, with some finding it “convenient” while others express concerns about its reliability. We analyzed free-response answers regarding “perceptions of Wikipedia” using ChatGPT.

The results revealed five main trends:

“A convenient information source,”

 “Concerns about reliability,”

“Editing is a high barrier,”

 “Collective knowledge is appealing,”

and　“The community feels like a battlefield.”

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

The most common responses were that Wikipedia is used as “a convenient tool for research,” “an easy way to access information,” and “part of daily life.”

Main comment examples,

• “I use it as a starting point for research.”
• “A encyclopedia that allows me to quickly search for anything that catches my interest on my smartphone.”
• “It has everything, so I end up reading it all.”
• “It’s convenient for getting an overview of what I want to know.”

As such, many people use Wikipedia as their “primary source of information,” and its high ranking in search results likely influences this.

On the other hand, while acknowledging its convenience, many also expressed concerns such as “Wikipedia’s information is not entirely reliable” and “There are mistakes, so caution is needed.”

Main comments,

• “I use it as a reference, but I don’t fully trust it.”
• “Some articles lack proper citations, which is concerning.”
• “It’s a good starting point for research, but taking it at face value is risky.”
• “I look down on people who use Wikipedia as a basis for their arguments, but I feel compelled to defend Wikipedia itself.”

Additionally, in educational settings, many people reported being told that Wikipedia cannot be used for reports or papers, indicating that it still lacks credibility in academic contexts. Regarding this point, while the structural characteristic of Wikipedia—that information may be updated in real time—is a valid reason for its unsuitability as a reference source for reports or papers, many people seem to misunderstand this as meaning that the information is unreliable because the editors are unknown.

(From “Wikipedia Exhibition 2024” by Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

One of Wikipedia’s major features is that “anyone can edit it,” but in reality, many people feel that there are barriers to editing. In particular, there were multiple comments such as “Wikipedia editors seem intimidating,” and some people had the impression that “editing battles” occur and “the rules are strict.”
Main comment examples

• “Editing requires courage”
• “I’m afraid of making mistakes”
• “I want to edit, but the local rules seem difficult”
• “I want to provide accurate information, but I’m afraid of being criticized”

（“Wikipedia Exhibition 2024” by Soseki’s Cat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons）

Another major feature of Wikipedia is that it is an encyclopedia created by people from all over the world who contribute their knowledge. Many people expressed agreement with this point.

Main comments

• “A wonderful database created by collective intelligence”
• “A DIY space for knowledge”
• “Should be used to spread information and preserve it for future generations”

As you can see, there were a number of comments praising Wikipedia’s “collaborative” and “knowledge-sharing” aspects. On the other hand, some people who have edited Wikipedia commented that “the inside of Wikipedia is like a battlefield.”

Examples of comments

• “There are very scary people who look intimidating and fight like soldiers to defend their territory.”
• “Edit wars are scary.”
• “There are few administrators and many vandals.”
• “Discussions get too heated, making it hard for newcomers to join.”

In this way, some people feel that Wikipedia’s editing culture is “open yet closed in some ways.”

(”Wikipedia Exhibition 2024” by Soseki’s Cat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Based on the survey results, it became clear that for many people, Wikipedia is a “convenient source of information” while also being perceived as “requiring caution regarding reliability” and having “high barriers to editing.” In particular, the sentiment that “it’s convenient to use, but scary to edit” stood out, highlighting the coexistence of Wikipedia’s openness and closedness. Additionally, many people expressed interest in participating in editing events, indicating a need for efforts to lower the barriers to editing.
As a side note, we asked ChatGPT for its thoughts on these results, and it responded as follows:

“Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that leverages the power of collective knowledge, and its value will continue to grow in the future. Based on the results of this survey, it seems that there is a need to create an environment where more people can easily participate in editing.”