Wikimedia CH/Community Survey 2016

Community Survey Edition 2016

Wikimedia CH has conducted its second community survey in December 2016 in order to better understand needs, concerns and ideas of both members and the different communities in Switzerland. WMCH clearly understands that for serving the community and remaining visible in Switzerland, this type of outreach is definitely needed.
The inputs received through the survey will help WMCH to improve its services and render its work as an association more effective; moreover the input will also find its way into future plans and further strategy discussions.
The survey has been hosted on Qualtrics.com with a login received from the Wikimedia Foundation. It was available online in four languages (de, fr, it, en) from December 22 onwards . The survey link was communicated on the central notice banners in Wikipedia (registered users on de, fr, it & en) and on Wikimedia Commons in Switzerland, as well as via eMail to our members. Please do not hesitate to contact WMCH in case you would be interested to read the translated versions of the survey!

Banner Text

Participate in our Community-Survey!
Wikimedia Switzerland would like to better understand your wishes and needs in order to align and improve its services. Thanks for your help!

Analysis & Evaluation

Which sentence is true for you?

Participants of the Wikimedia CH Community Survey 2016

A total of 118 people participated in the 2016 survey:

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
Member	40	22%	13	11%
Contributor	96	52%	79	67%
Member as well as contributor	48	26%	26	22%
Total	184	100%	118	100%

A relatively high number of Wikipedians not directly member of the association responded to the survey. We value this as an indicator showing that WMCH has a great potential to attract participation from various backgrounds and parts of the community who might be interested in the association's activities.

Compared to the 2015 survey, the increase of contributors also represents an interesting value, indicating that more Wikipedians are interested in Wikimedia projects.

Questions related to Wikimedia projects

For how many years have you been contributing to Wikipedia and/or other Wikimedia Projects, like Wikimedia Commons?

For how many years have you been contributing to Wikipedia and/or other Wikimedia Projects?

This question screens the experience of the respondants.

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
Less than 1 year	18	10%	22	19%
1 up to 5 years	48	26%	33	28%
5 up to 10 years	46	25%	23	19%
More than 10 years	32	17%	19	16%
No answer	40	22%	21	18%
Total	184	100%	118	100%

These results clearly show that newer contributors or Wikipedians are more likely to voice their opinion than experienced users. It is difficult however to verify if this is simply a consequence of the typical turnover within Wikipedia, where users with more experience become less active compared to the users with lesser experience. As we go on interpreting the results, we need to keep in mind that the answers represent not necessarily opinions and views of more experienced users.

On which Wikimedia projects do you contribute?

On which Wikimedia projects do you contribute?

This multiple choice question was new in the 2016 survey.

Answer	Responses	%
Wikipedia	93	52%
Commons	49	28%
Wikidata	20	11%
Wikivoyage	6	3%
Wiktionary	4	2%
Wikisource	3	2%
Mediawiki	1	1%
Wikiquote	1	1%
Wikibooks	1	1%
Wikispecies	0	0%
Wikinews	0	0%
Wikiversity	0	0%
Total	178	100%

The large majority (91%) contributes to the three main Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia, Commons and Wikidata) and of that, half to Wikipedia. No one of the respondents contributes to Wikispecies, Wikiversity or Wikinews. Wikipedia thus remains the main project in the Swiss context which might be a consequence of the Swiss multilingualism.

Which of the following groups support you in your work as Wikipedian and/or Wikimedian (in Wikimedia Projects)?

Here, multiple answers were possible. Please note that this question has only been shown to survey participants who indicated that they were a contributor in Wikimedia projects.

Which of the following groups support you in your work as Wikipedian and/or Wikimedian (in Wikimedia Projects)?

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
other users, whom I don’t know in “real life”	58	23%	37	26%
nobody supports me, and that’s how I want it to be	51	20%	28	19%
other users, whom I do also know from “real life” (f.ex. Stammtisch, Wikipérmanence)	41	16%	20	14%
Wikimedia CH (Switzerland)	32	13%	16	11%
nobody supports me, but I wish to be more supported	13	5%	16	11%
my educational institution (f.ex. from your school, University etc.)	6	2%	7	5%
my surrounding family	8	3%	6	4%
my employer	4	2%	5	3%
none of the above, but others support me, such as my friends or libraries	4	2%	3	2%
Wikimedia FR (France)	5	2%	3	2%
The Wikimedia Foundation	9	4%	2	1%
Wikimedia DE (Germany)	13	5%	1	1%
Wikimedia AT (Austria)	5	2%	0	0%
Wikimedia IT (Italy)	4	2%	0	0%
Total	253	100%	144	100%

The answer "none of the above, but others support me, such as…" has received two types of responses:

• My friends
• Libraries

The results show more or less the same trends as last year with one major difference: the support of other entities (Chapters of the Wikimedia Foundation) decreased or ceased; in parallel the percentage of people without support, but looking to be supported doubled.

Only a quarter of the respondents indicate that they feel supported by a Chapter which could of course be improved.

Questions related to Wikimedia membership

For how long have you been a member of Wikimedia CH?

For how long have you been a member of Wikimedia CH?

Please note that this question has only been shown to participants of the survey who indicated to be a Member of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses (2015)	%	Responses (2015)	%
Less than 1 year	27	31%	17	44%
1 up to 5 years	41	47%	13	33%
More than 5 years	15	17%	4	10%
No answer	5	6%	5	13%
Total	88	100%	39	100%

In 2016, the number of Members of the association, who answered the survey, decreased; from those who answered, new Members are the majority.

What were your main reasons for becoming a member of Wikimedia CH?

What were your main reasons for becoming a member of Wikimedia CH?

Multiple answers were possible and this question has only been shown to participants of the survey who indicated to be a Member of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses (2015)	%	Responses (2016)	%
To support Wikipedia and/or another Wikimedia-Project	63	34%	20	30%
Because I am convinced that free access to free knowledge is crucial	63	34%	18	27%
To contribute to the activities of the Association Wikimedia CH	27	14%	13	19%
To meet like-minded people	14	7%	6	9%
To participate in activities	12	6%	7	10%
Other reasons	6	3%	3	4%
I don't know/ No answer	2	1%	0	0%
Total	187	100%	67	100%

In other reasons the respondents indicated:

• To help build a Forum for Swiss problems;
• To contribute to the quality of Wikipedia;
• Want that money collected in Switzerland and is spent in Switzerland.

The responses are distributed similarly as they were in 2015, indicating that possibly Members' needs stayed the same or are at least similar. What is relevant is that the focus of supporting Wikipedia and free knowledge as such lost some support in favor of the Association's activities.

Does the following statement apply to you: I participate to Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events.

Does the following statement apply to you: I participate to Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events.

Answer	Responses (2015)	%
Yes	22	56%
No	11	28%
No answer	6	15%
Total	39	100%

If the answer was negative, the question: Why don't you participate in Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events? tried to find out the various reasons for that.

Results were:

• Unusual working hours, therefore difficult to participate;
• Still a beginner but I would like to participate;
• Wikimedia is not a prority and there is a lack of time;
• Too boring;
• I miss time and methodology.

Were your expectations of becoming a member fulfilled?

The same question was posed in 2015 but with a ranking system. In 2016, we kept it simple, only allowing for binary answers: yes/no.

Does the following statement apply to you: I participate to Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events.

Answer	Responses	%
yes	21	54%
no	9	23%
no answer	9	23%
Total	39	100%

I would recommend a friend to become a member of Wikimedia CH

I would recommend a friend to become a member of Wikimedia CH

(1 = not at all, 10 = fully)
With this question we gauged the loyalty of the Association's Members. We asked the participants to attribute a value between 1 (not at all) and 10 (fully) to the following statement “I would recommend a friend to become a member of Wikimedia CH”. Based on the answers to this question, we were then able to generate the Net Promoter Score.

9 people responded with a score of 9 or 10 (equals 23% of all people who have answered this question). These members of the Association can be considered as promoters and loyal enthusiasts. In contrast, we had 12 people who responded with a score of 0 to 6. These 31% are considered to be not fully satisfied Members.

Please note that this question has only been shown to participants of the survey who indicated to be a Member of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
1	1	1%	1	3%
2	2	2%	0	0%
3	1	1%	2	5%
4	1	1%	1	3%
5	11	13%	8	21%
6	5	6%	0	0%
7	11	13%	4	10%
8	9	10%	5	13%
9	16	18%	2	5%
10	26	30%	7	18%
No answer	5	6%	9	23%
Total	83	100%	39	100%

Does the following statement apply to you: I have a feeling of "belongingness" to Wikimedia CH

This question showed a selection of values in 2015; in 2016, only binary answers were possible.

Please note that this question has only been shown to participants of the survey who indicated to be a Member of Wikimedia CH.

Does the following statement apply to you: I have a feeling of "belongingness" to Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses	%
yes	26	67%
no	4	10%
no answer	9	23%
Total	39	100%

Interpreting the results, belonging to Wikimedia CH is seen as valuable; only a small percentage of Members doesn't consider this to be a value.

Does the following statement apply to you: I feel valued by Wikimedia CH

Does the following statement apply to you: I feel valued by Wikimedia CH.

Please note that this question has only been shown to participants of the survey who indicated to be a Member of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
fully applies	32	18%	10	26%
rather applies	51	29 %	9	23%
does rather not apply	30	17%	5	13%
does not apply	18	10%	4	10%
None of the above apply	43	25%	2	5%
No answer	0	0%	9	23%
Total	174	100%	39	100%

When giving a negative response, we asked: Why not?

The results were:

• No one wants to look at my changes, or at least review;
• There is no collective conscience about the appreciation;
• It is not meant to be negative, but there is no rich associational life;
• For me the question is irrelevant. It is not a task of Wikimedia to value me.

Questions related to Wikimedia CH strategy

Were you aware that Wikimedia CH has a strategy?

Were you aware that Wikimedia CH has a strategy?

Answer	Responses	%
Yes	23	19%
No	69	58%
No answer	26	22%
Total	118	100%

The question is important because the strategy of Wikimedia CH has been changed recently and through workshops and information, staff tried to involve as many Members as possible.

Does the following statement apply to you: I am satisfied with the strategic direction of Wikimedia CH

I am satisfied with the strategic direction of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses	%
Yes	61	52%
No	32	27%
No answer	25	21%
Total	118	100%

The question is important because the strategy of Wikimedia CH has been changed recently and, despite the fact that the majority of Members did not know that there was a new one, they are apparently mostly satisfied.

If a respondent indicated that he/she was not satisfied, we asked: Why are you not satisfied?.

The results were:

• Problems connected with the format of communication or with the language (PDF or English use) (4 times);
• The creation of a strategy is an unnecessary activity of an association (2 times);
• The current strategy is a draft and it's not in a definitive version (2 times);
• Too long to read, or difficulties to understand the context (2 times);
• The strategy has not published clearly or has not been communicated in other mailing lists like OpenStreetMap (2 times);
• No interest with Wikimedia CH activities;
• For questions connected with Wikipedia like low neutrality of some articles.

The strategic directions for the years to come are: GLAM, Education and Community. Which of these would you be interested in learning more about?

The strategic directions for the years to come are: GLAM, Education and Community. Which of these would you be interested in learning more about?

Answer	Responses	%
Education	32	41%
Community	24	30%
GLAM	23	29%
Total	118	100%

Questions related to Wikimedia CH activities

Which of the following services of Wikimedia CH are of (greatest) importance to you?

Which of the following services of Wikimedia CH are of (greatest) importance to you?

Please note that this question has been shown to all participants of the survey and that multiple choice was allowed.

Answer	Responses (2015)	% (2015)	Responses (2016)	% (2016)
Providing advice	57	16%	28	19%
Providing a network of contacts	55	16%	21	14%
Hosting events	53	15%	16	11%
Newsletter	45	13%	17	12%
Others	34	10%	16	11%
Reimbursement of travel costs	30	9%	15	10%
Scholarships to attend Wikimania/WikiCon	27	8%	13	9%
Microgrants	27	8%	11	8%
Equipment loans and/or press accreditations	24	7%	8	6%
Total	352	100%	145	100%

As "Others" the respondents gave the following responses:

• All kinds of information (3 times);
• More strength;
• WP-Library, expansion of the offer to specialized databases;
• Legal support.

Are you following the activities of Wikimedia CH?

Are you following the activities of Wikimedia CH?

Please note that this question has been shown to all participants of the survey and that multiple choice was allowed.

Answer	Responses	%
No	38	27%
Yes, directly on Wikipedia	19	13%
Yes, I read the Newsletter	17	12%
Yes, I visit the Website www.wikimedia.ch	13	9%
Yes, I follow you on Twitter	12	8%
Yes, through personal contacts with staff/board members	12	8%
Yes, I am subscribed to the mailing list	11	8%
Yes, I get information at events that I visit	7	5%
Yes, through the members wiki	6	4%
Yes, through Facebook	6	4%
Yes, thanks through other channels	1	1%
Total	142	100%

I am just enough informed about the activities of Wikimedia CH

I am just enough informed about the activities of Wikimedia CH.

Answer	Responses	%
Yes	49	62%
No	30	38%
Total	79	100%

If a respondent gave a negative answer, we asked: Please explain why?

The results were:

• I've never heard of Wikimedia before (2 times);
• I followed the creation of wikimedia.ch many years ago, but I stepped down;
• I am little informed, as I only periodically improve articles;
• The best would be a newsletter, not a confusing mailing list.

Individual Feedbacks & Comments

At the very end of the survey, the participants had the opportunity to share a comment or feedback with us. The following list isn't complete but represents some topics and type of comments which were made. Please note that we don't publish all individual comments that have been made, respecting the anonymity of the survey.

Questionnaire

• Technical Info:

Depending on being a Member/not being a Member of WMCH and/or being an active Wikimedian (e.g. contributing to a Wikimedia Project), the questions displayed varied.

Please note that the word “active” refers to 3 or more edits made per month.

  Community Survey Wikimedia CH 2016

Wikimedia CH is launching its community survey in order to better understand your wishes, needs and concerns as member of the Community we want to serve and facilitate. The inputs we get from you will help us to improve our services and our work as an association as well as to shape our future plans and strategy. The survey is available in german, french, italian and english language and we're happy to receive your answer before January 5, 2017. Thank you so much for your participation.

Which sentence is true for you?

[ ] I am a member of the association Wikimedia Switzerland

[ ] I am an active contributor on Wikipedia and/or another Wikimedia-Project (e.g. Wikimedia Commons, Wikisource etc.)

[ ] Both are true

For how many years have you been contributing to Wikipedia and/or other Wikimedia Projects?

[ ] Less than 1 year

[ ] 1 up to 5 years

[ ] 5 up to 10 years

[ ] More than 10 years

On which Wikimedia projects do you contribute? [ ] Wikipedia

[ ] Wikimedia Commons

[ ] Wikidata

[ ] Wikisource

[ ] Wikivoyage

[ ] Wiktionary

[ ] Wikiversity

[ ] Wikibooks

[ ] Wikinews

[ ] Wikispecies

[ ] Wikiquote

[ ] Media-Wiki

Which of the following people or groups support you in your work as a Wikipedian and/or a Wikimedian ? Multiple answers are possible.

[ ] other users, whom I don’t know in “real life”

[ ] other users, whom I do also know from “real life” (f.ex. Stammtisch, Wikipérmanence)

[ ] my educational institution (f.ex. from your school, University etc)

[ ] my employer

[ ] my surrounding family

[ ] Wikimedia CH (Switzerland)

[ ] Wikimedia DE (Germany)

[ ] Wikimedia AT (Austria)

[ ] Wikimedia IT (Italy)

[ ] Wikimedia FR (France)

[ ] The Wikimedia Foundation

[ ] none of the above, but others support me, such as ____________________

[ ] nobody supports me, but I wish to be more supported

[ ] nobody supports me, and that’s how I want it to be

For how long have you been a member of Wikimedia Switzerland?

[ ] Less than 1 year

[ ] 1 up to 5 years

[ ] More than 5 years

What were the main reasons for becoming a member of Wikimedia CH? Multiple answers are possible.

[ ] To support Wikipedia and/or another Wikimedia-Project

[ ] To contribute to the activities of the Wikimedia CH association

[ ] Because I am convinced that access to free knowledge is crucial

[ ] To participate in activities

[ ] To meet like-minded people

[ ] Other reasons: _________________________________________.

[ ] I don’t know / No answer.

Does the following statement apply to you: I participate to Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events.

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Why do you not participate to Wikimedia CH's activities and/or events? _________________________________________

Were your expectations of becoming a member fulfilled?

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Why were your expectations not fulfilled? _________________________________________

How likely is it that you would recommend Wikimedia CH to a friend or colleague? (1 = not at all, 10 = fully)

[ ] 1 [ ] 2 [ ] 3 [ ] 4 [ ] 5 [ ] 6 [ ] 7 [ ] 8 [ ] 9 [ ] 10

Does the following statement apply to you: I have a feeling of “belongingness” to Wikimedia Switzerland.

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Does the following statement apply to you: I feel appreciated/valued by Wikimedia Switzerland.

[ ] Fully applies

[ ] Rather applies

[ ] Does rather not apply

[ ] Does not apply at all

[ ] None of the above apply

Why not?_________________________________________

Were you aware that Wikimedia CH has a strategy? Please find the link to the chapter's strategy here.

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Does the following statement apply to you: I am satisfied with the strategic direction of Wikimedia CH

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Why are you not satisfied?_________________________________________

The strategic directions for the years to come are: GLAM, Education and Community. Which of these would you be interested in learning more about?

[ ] GLAM

[ ] Education

[ ] Community

Which of the following services from Wikimedia Switzerland are of (greatest) importance to you? You can indicate multiple answers.

[ ] Reimbursement of travel costs

[ ] Scholarships to attend Wikimania/WikiCon

[ ] Microgrants

[ ] Rental of Equipment and/or press accreditation

[ ] Literature Scholarships

[ ] Organizational support

[ ] Providing a network of contacts

[ ] Hosting events

[ ] others, such as ____________________________________.

Are you following the activities of Wikimedia CH? You can indicate multiple answers.

[ ] No.

[ ] Yes, I visit the Website www.wikimedia.ch

[ ] Yes, through the members wiki

[ ] Yes, directly on Wikipedia

[ ] Yes, I am subscribed to the mailing list (f.ex. wikimediach-l@lists.wikimedia.org)

[ ] Yes, I read the Newsletter

[ ] Yes, through Facebook

[ ] Yes, I follow you on Twitter

[ ] Yes, I get information at events that I visit

[ ] Yes, through personal contacts with employees or board members of the association

[ ] Yes, thanks to ____________________

I am just enough informed about the activities of Wikimedia CH.

[ ] Yes

[ ] No

Please explain why?____________________

Last but not least: Would you like to tell us something and give a general feedback? Feel free to indicate your username in case you wish for us to be more proactive in contacting you.You'll finally find some space for your message here.

(Field for open answer)

Thanks a lot for your participation. This will help Wikimedia CH to further align our activities and communication according to your needs. Your Wikimedia CH Team.

www.wikimedia.ch

Related links

• Wikimedia CH/Community Survey 2015