Research:Post-registration editor survey
This page documents a small survey to be conducted by the Editor Engagement Experiments team at the Wikimedia Foundation.
Summary edit
This short post-registration survey will target English Wikipedia account holders immediately after signup, and is in support of Wikimedia Foundation projects related to account creation user experience improvements and the buildout of an onboarding system.
Dissemination and methods edit
A link to participate in this survey will be given to all those who register accounts on English Wikipedia, via inserting a small call to action in the landing page post-registration. Participation will be optional, and will not appear anywhere else.
The purpose of this survey is to get a baseline feel for how many newly-registered individuals intend to edit or otherwise contribute to Wikipedia, as opposed to other reasons for registration, and will thus be limited to a few short questions. The survey also includes a privacy disclaimer and notice that responses will be released to the public domain.
Version 1 edit
We're trying to understand why people sign up for an account on Wikipedia. There are just two questions, then you're done: 1. What do you want to do with your Wikipedia account? :I want to edit an existing Wikipedia page or pages (by updating the information, correcting mistakes, etc.) :I want to start a new page on Wikipedia. :Other (please describe) [free text] 2. Did you edit Wikipedia before registering, even once? :Yes :No :I don't remember When you've answered the questions above, just click "Submit" to finish. Thanks a lot for your help!
Version 2 edit
Based on the several hundred free text responses, which we categorized by hand, we refactored the second version to be multiple choice, with no free text response.
We're trying to understand why people sign up for an account on Wikipedia. There is just one question, then you're done: :I want to edit existing Wikipedia pages by updating the information, correcting mistakes, etc. :I want to start a new page on Wikipedia. :I want to contribute another way, such as by translating, adding images, etc. :I want an account just in case I edit in the future. :I want to read or download Wikipedia content, not edit. :I am a donor or want to donate. :Other reason / I don't know.
Timeline edit
This survey will appear for a minimum of one week, and no more than three.
- Version 1 was launched at 00:36, 29 November 2012 til 19:17, 29 November 2012 (18 hours, 41 minutes).
- Version 2 was launched at 22:42, 29 November 2012 til 19:05, 30 November 2012 (20 hours, 23 minutes)
- Version 3 was launched at 19:05, 30 November 2012 til 02:38, 4 December 2012 (with a gap in between, to account for the change to a new MediaWiki message delivering the survey)
Results edit
| What do you want to do with your Wikipedia account? | Percent | Responses |
|---|---|---|
| I want to edit an existing Wikipedia page or pages (by updating the information, correcting mistakes, etc.) | 38.0% | 542 |
| I want to start a new page on Wikipedia. | 36.0% | 514 |
| Other (please describe) | 26.0% | 371 |
| Total responses | 1427 |
| What do you primarily want to do with your Wikipedia account? | Percent | Responses |
|---|---|---|
| I want to edit existing Wikipedia pages by updating the information, correcting mistakes, etc. | 23.10% | 1393 |
| I want to start a new page on Wikipedia. | 22.50% | 1357 |
| I want to contribute another way, such as by translating, adding images, etc. | 5.60% | 339 |
| I want an account just in case I edit in the future. | 13.30% | 800 |
| I want to read or download Wikipedia content, not edit. | 14.70% | 887 |
| I am a donor or want to donate. | 9.50% | 575 |
| Other reason / I don't know. | 11.20% | 676 |
| Total responses | 6027 |