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A monthly overview of recent academic research about Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, also published as the Wikimedia Research Newsletter.
How do readers use health information on Wikipedia? A recent paper[1] explores this question using semi-structured interviews with 21 adults from seven countries. All participants had used Wikipedia for health information at least once in the previous year.
The research was qualitative in intent and all participants happened to have at least some post-secondary education, so the results are not necessarily representative of Wikipedia readers as a whole. Nevertheless, it gives a fascinating breadth of results. The whole paper is well worth reading – it's brief, digestible, and probably quite gratifying for Wikipedia volunteers. Some highlights:
Other recent publications that could not be covered in time for this issue include the items listed below. Contributions, whether reviewing or summarizing newly published research, are always welcome.
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