Community Engagement Insights 2016-17 Report

Key Findings from the Communications team edit

To be filled in by the Communications team

Which were your team's most important research questions?
To what extent were these questions answered?
What additional analyses does your team need?
Which questions surprised your team?
How does your team you plan to use the data?
What survey questions would your team like to ask next time?

Communications team report edit

Across audiences edit

Question 127 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (97%)
2 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (6%)
3 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (18%)
4 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (9%)
5 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (13%)
6 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (11%)
7 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (17%)
8 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (5%)
97% of survey participants contributed to Wikimedia projects online.


Question 131 (CS02) edit

Which of the following communications channels do you use the most for any Wikimedia work? (Choose up to three)

Participants could select more than one option

10% did not select an option [?]

1 – Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists (18%)
2 – Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons) (79%)
3 – Phabricator (4%)
4 – Other Social media (specify) (2%)
5 – Facebook (11%)
6 – Twitter (3%)
7 – Other (specify) (6%)
79% of survey participants use any Wikimedia project page, such as village pumps or talk pages, as a communication channel for their Wikimedia work while 18% selected mailing lists and 11% selected Facebook.


Question 132.01 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists


Median = 4
50% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (7%)
2 – Difficult (15%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (28%)
4 – Easy (32%)
5 – Very easy (18%)
Fifty percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Wikimedia-related mailing lists.


Question 132.02 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons)


Median = 4
10% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (1%)
2 – Difficult (7%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (19%)
4 – Easy (36%)
5 – Very easy (38%)
Seventy-four percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using any page on Wikimedia projects.


Question 132.03 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Phabricator


Median = 3
73% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (19%)
2 – Difficult (27%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (29%)
4 – Easy (15%)
5 – Very easy (10%)
Forty-six percent of participants indicated that it is very difficult or difficult to connect with others or resources using any page on Wikimedia projects.


Question 132.04 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Other Social media (specify)


Median = 3
90% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (13%)
2 – Difficult (13%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (30%)
4 – Easy (30%)
5 – Very easy (13%)
Forty-three percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using other types of social media.


Question 132.05 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Facebook


Median = 4
62% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (10%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (23%)
4 – Easy (33%)
5 – Very easy (29%)
Sixty-two percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Facebook.


Question 132.06 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Twitter


Median = 4
67% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (8%)
2 – Difficult (17%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (23%)
4 – Easy (29%)
5 – Very easy (23%)
Fifty-two percent of participants indicated that it is very easy or easy to connect with others or resources using Twitter.


Question 132.07 (CS21) edit

To what extent are the following communication channels easy or difficult to use for connecting with people or resources -- Other (specify)


Median = 4
87% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (19%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (27%)
4 – Easy (12%)


Question 133.01 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Any Wikimedia-related mailing lists


Median = 4
9% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (14%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (29%)
4 – Easy (38%)
5 – Very easy (14%)
'Fifty-two percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Wikimedia related mailing lists.


Question 133.02 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Any page on Wikimedia projects (e.g. Wikipedia, Commons)


Median = 4
11% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (2%)
2 – Difficult (7%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (28%)
4 – Easy (43%)
5 – Very easy (21%)
Sixty-four percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using pages on any Wikimedia project.


Question 133.03 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Phabricator


Median = 4

1 – Very difficult (5%)
2 – Difficult (10%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (30%)
4 – Easy (40%)
5 – Very easy (15%)
Fifty-five percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Phabricator.


Question 133.04 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Other Social media (specify)


Median = 4
33% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (17%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (17%)
4 – Easy (33%)
Thirty-three percent of participants indicated it is easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using other types of social media.


Question 133.05 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Facebook


Median = 4
12% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (2%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (26%)
4 – Easy (30%)
Thirty percent of participants indicated it is easy to make progress on Wikimedia activities using Facebook.


Question 133.06 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Twitter


Median = 4
21% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (0%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (36%)


Question 133.07 (CS03) edit

To what extent are the following channels easy or difficult to use for making progress on any Wikimedia activities? -- Other (specify)


Median = 4.5
29% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (8%)
2 – Difficult (0%)
3 – Neither easy nor difficult (25%)
4 – Easy (17%)


Question 134 (CS11) edit

How often do you look for updates or news about Wikipedia/Wikimedia features or services?


Median = 2

1 – Never (17%)
2 – Rarely (35%)
3 – Sometimes (33%)
4 – Often (10%)
5 – Almost always (5%)
Fifty-two percent of participants indicated that they never or rarely look for updates or news about Wikimedia/Wikipedia features or services.


Question 135 (CS13) edit

In the last 12 months, about how often did you share anything related to Wikimedia with anyone, using any non-Wikimedia online channel (social media, mailing list, email, etc.)?


Median = 1

1 – Less than once a month (75%)
2 – 1-3 times a month (14%)
3 – 4-5 times a month (about once a week) (4%)
4 – 2-3 times a week (1%)
5 – 4-5 times a week (1%)
6 – 6-7 times a week (about once a day) (1%)
7 – More than once a day (3%)
Seventy-five percent of participants indicated that in the past 12 months they have shared anything related to Wikimedia on a non-Wikimedia online channel less than once a month.


Question 136.01 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Online outreach


Median = 3
22% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (21%)
2 – Slightly important (19%)
3 – Fairly important (22%)
4 – Quite important (19%)
5 – Very Important (20%)
Thirty-nine percent of participants indicated that online outreach was quite important or very important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.02 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- In-person encounter


Median = 1
33% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (52%)
2 – Slightly important (15%)
3 – Fairly important (10%)
4 – Quite important (8%)
5 – Very Important (15%)
Sixty-seven percent of participants indicated that inperson encounters were not at all important or slightly important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.03 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Talk page messages


Median = 4
12% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (9%)
2 – Slightly important (14%)
3 – Fairly important (19%)
4 – Quite important (27%)
5 – Very Important (31%)
Fifty-eight percent of participants indicated that talk page messages were very important or quite important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.04 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Social media


Median = 1
28% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (53%)
2 – Slightly important (15%)
3 – Fairly important (12%)
4 – Quite important (11%)
5 – Very Important (9%)
Sixty-eight percent of participants indicated that social media was not at all important or slightly important in helping them get more involved in the Wikimedia movement.


Question 136.05 (CS10) edit

Thinking back to when you were first learning about Wikimedia, to what extent were each of the following important or not important in helping you get more involved in the Wikimedia movement? -- Other (please explain)


Median = 1
67% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all important (66%)
2 – Slightly important (6%)
3 – Fairly important (9%)
4 – Quite important (5%)
5 – Very Important (15%)


Question 138 (CS12) edit

What do you use to find out about new Wikimedia features and services from the Wikimedia Foundation? (select all that apply)

Participants could select more than one option

2% did not select an option [?]

1 – Any Wikimedia-related mailing list (e.g. wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org) (18%)
2 – Any Wikimedia project page (e.g. talk page, village pump) (50%)
3 – Phabricator (5%)
4 – Local conferences, events, or meet-ups (e.g. weekly meetups) (6%)
5 – Online events (e.g. monthly Wikimedia Foundation metrics meeting) (3%)
6 – Social media channels (e.g. Facebook, Twitter) (15%)
7 – Wikimedia Foundation blog (6%)
8 – Other (specify) (5%)
9 – None of the above (36%)
50% of survey respondents use any Wikimedia project page, such as a talk page or village pump, while 36% don't use any of these options to find out about new Wikimedia features and services from the Wikimedia Foundation.


Question 150 (CS14) edit

When you have something you want to share related to your Wikimedia projects (e.g. editing, software, contests), where are you most likely to share it? Select all that apply

Participants could select more than one option

18% did not select an option [?]

1 – Social media (e.g. facebook, twitter) (28%)
2 – A Wikimedia project page (e.g. wikipedia, wikisource) (57%)
3 – A Wikimedia mailing list (9%)
4 – Other websites (specify) (3%)
5 – Other mailing list (specify) (1%)
6 – Other (specify) (8%)
57% of participants share anything related to their Wikimedia projects on a Wikimedia project page and 28% share on social media.


Question 153 (CS05) edit

Which of the following do you use for editing Wikipedia? (select all that apply)

Participants could select more than one option

2% did not select an option [?]

1 – Traditional wikitext mark up (92%)
2 – Visual editor (19%)
3 – Something else (5%)
92% of survey participants use traditional wiki mark up while 19% use visual editor.


Question 154 (CS04) edit

How easy or difficult is it for you to edit Wikipedia using traditional wikitext markup?


Median = 4
0% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very difficult (0%)
2 – Difficult (6%)
3 – Neither difficult nor easy (24%)
4 – Easy (36%)
5 – Very easy (33%)
Sixty-nine percent of participants indicated it is easy or very easy to edit Wikipedia using traditional wikitext markup.


Question 155 (CS06) edit

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

I believe that the visual editor is useful for new editors to contribute

Median = 4
15% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Strongly disagree (6%)
2 – Disagree (11%)
3 – Neither agree nor disagree (25%)
4 – Agree (37%)
5 – Strongly agree (20%)
Fifty-seven percent of participants agree or strongly agree that the visual editor is useful for new editors to contribute.


Question links edit


Editors edit

Question 207 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (97%)
2 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (14%)
3 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (6%)
4 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (10%)
5 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (7%)
6 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (13%)
7 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (4%)
8 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (4%)
Almost all survey participants (97%) participated in editing online


Question links edit


Affiliates edit

Question 407 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (95%)
2 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (90%)
3 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (60%)
4 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (35%)
5 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (87%)
6 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (90%)
7 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (17%)
8 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (63%)


Question 419.01 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Working with local media


Median = 4
1% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (2%)
2 – Slightly (14%)
3 – Moderately (24%)
4 – Mostly (32%)
5 – Completely (28%)
60% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared to use communications for working with local media.


Question 419.02 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Brand management


Median = 3
2% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (8%)
2 – Slightly (15%)
3 – Moderately (27%)
4 – Mostly (30%)
5 – Completely (19%)
49% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared to use communications for brand management.


Question 419.03 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Using social media to promote your affiliate


Median = 4
1% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (5%)
2 – Slightly (6%)
3 – Moderately (18%)
4 – Mostly (37%)
5 – Completely (34%)
71% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared using communications to use social media to promote their affiliate.


Question 419.04 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Engaging new users


Median = 4
1% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (6%)
2 – Slightly (16%)
3 – Moderately (21%)
4 – Mostly (37%)
5 – Completely (20%)
57% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared using communications for engaging new users.


Question 419.05 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Engaging existing community members


Median = 4
1% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (1%)
2 – Slightly (9%)
3 – Moderately (25%)
4 – Mostly (49%)
5 – Completely (16%)
65% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared using communications for engaging existing community members.


Question 419.06 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Public relations


Median = 4
1% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (4%)
2 – Slightly (14%)
3 – Moderately (25%)
4 – Mostly (31%)
5 – Completely (26%)
57% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared using communications for public relations.


Question 419.07 (CS16) edit

To what extent do you feel your Wikimedia affiliate is prepared to use communications in each of the following ways: - Promoting trainings and conferences


Median = 4
2% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Not at all (6%)
2 – Slightly (6%)
3 – Moderately (20%)
4 – Mostly (33%)
5 – Completely (35%)
68% of affiliate members who participated in this question feel that their affiliate is mostly or completely prepared using communications for promoting trainings and conferences.


Question links edit


Program leaders edit

Question 307 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (94%)
2 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (82%)
3 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (53%)
4 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (32%)
5 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (77%)
6 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (80%)
7 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (20%)
8 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (51%)


Question 318.01 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-MediaWiki wiki


Median = 2

1 – Never (22%)
2 – Rarely (31%)
3 – Sometimes (26%)
4 – Often (13%)
5 – Almost always (8%)
21% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always using Mediawiki Wiki to learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 318.02 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-Other Wikimedia mailing lists


Median = 3

1 – Never (8%)
2 – Rarely (13%)
3 – Sometimes (34%)
4 – Often (35%)
5 – Almost always (11%)
46% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always using other Wikimedia mailing lists to learn new information that affects their program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 318.03 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-Affiliates only mailing list


Median = 3

1 – Never (18%)
2 – Rarely (20%)
3 – Sometimes (26%)
4 – Often (22%)
5 – Almost always (14%)
34% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always using affiliates-only mailing lists to learn new information that affects their program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 318.04 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-Wikimedia Blog


Median = 3

1 – Never (16%)
2 – Rarely (25%)
3 – Sometimes (30%)
4 – Often (21%)
5 – Almost always (9%)
30% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always use the Wikimedia Blog to learn new information that affects their program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 318.05 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-Social Media (Facebook, Twitter)


Median = 4

1 – Never (14%)
2 – Rarely (9%)
3 – Sometimes (27%)
4 – Often (32%)
5 – Almost always (19%)
51% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always using social media to learn new information that affects their program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 318.06 (CS18) edit

How often do you typically learn new information that affects your program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s) through the following channels?-Other (please explain)


Median = 3

1 – Never (31%)
2 – Rarely (15%)
3 – Sometimes (15%)
4 – Often (15%)
5 – Almost always (23%)
48% of program leaders who participated in this question reported often or almost always use other methods to learn new information that affects their program(s) or Wikimedia affiliate(s).


Question 319 (CS19) edit

Overall, to what extent are you satisfied or dissatisfied with all the existing communication channels (blog, social media, mailing lists) related to your programs/affiliate?


Median = 4
4% selected "No opinion" [?]

1 – Very dissatisfied (1%)
2 – Dissatisfied (8%)
3 – Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied (23%)
4 – Satisfied (56%)
5 – Very satisfied (12%)
68% of program leaders who participated in this question reported being satisfied or very satisfied with all the existing communication channels (blog, social media, mailing lists) related to your programs/affiliate.


Question links edit


Technical contributors edit

Question 507 (CS01) edit

Which of the following activities have you done at least once in the last 12 months? Select all that apply.

Participants could select more than one option

0% did not select an option [?]

1 – Make contributions or curate content on any Wikimedia project (e.g. editing) (91%)
2 – Attend offline Wikimedia events (e.g. editathons, conferences, hackathon) (58%)
3 – Participate in online Wikimedia events (e.g. a remote conference or meet-up) (45%)
4 – Support Mediawiki or Wikimedia software development (e.g. report a bug, test a product, have technical discussions, write software code, build tools) (74%)
5 – Organize community programs or events (e.g. editathons, GLAM, conferences, education program) (29%)
6 – Participate in a Wikimedia affiliate (e.g. Wikimedia chapter, thematic organization, user group) (40%)
7 – Conduct research related to Wikimedia (e.g. worked on a project on meta:research) (19%)
8 – Apply for any Wikimedia Foundation grant (e.g. Annual Plan Grants, Project and Event Grants, Rapid Grants, Project grants, Travel and Participation Support Grant) (15%)


Question links edit