Hi everyone,
Wiki Workshop [1 <https://wikiworkshop.org/>] 2023 will be the 10th edition
of Wiki Workshop! \o/ In the spirit of research and experimentation, we
have decided to make some changes for this decade edition event. There are
some changes that we know about now, and some that are work in progress.
Below you can learn more about the high level changes we expect to
implement.
*Online or in-person?*
Based on the feedback that we have gathered from Wiki Workshop attendees
over the past few years, a survey of authors of the recent Wiki Workshops,
as well as data about the geographical and gender diversity of Wiki
Workshop attendees (disclosed optionally as part of the registration form,
and aggregated), *we have decided to offer Wiki Workshop 2023 as a fully
online event*.
Through the authors' survey we also learned that some authors who publish
in Wiki Workshop appreciated the in-person presence of the Wiki Workshop
community as part of the Web Conference [2 <https://www2023.thewebconf.org/>]
(formerly WWW). *We are exploring options to bring the Wikimedia
researchers who will attend TheWebConf 2023 in-person together while some
of us will be in Austin*. More details on this in early 2023.
*When*
We expect the workshop to take place some time in April-June 2023. We will
announce the exact date no later than the end of February 2023.
*Publishing and proceedings*
When we surveyed Wiki Workshop authors, those who responded were split
50-50 between whether it is important for them to have their workshop
submission as part of a proceedings. This allowed us to start considering
options other than the Companion Proceedings of WWW (the traditional venue
where a subset of Wiki Workshop papers were published in every year).
I'm very excited to share that we have found a new approach for publishing
Wiki Workshop papers that can allow us to experiment with new models and
keep the two groups of authors happy.
For the 2023 edition, *we will continue with the tradition of receiving
paper submissions for Wiki Workshop* (though we may change the submission
format/length for 2023)* and all accepted papers will appear in the
**corresponding
Wiki Workshop website*, similar to last year's. [3
<https://wikiworkshop.org/2022/#papers>] However, instead of accepting a
subset of the papers to appear in Proceedings of WWW, we are working with
the Editor in Chief of ACM Transactions on the Web (TWEB) [4
<https://dl.acm.org/journal/tweb>] to create a pathway for a subset of the
Wiki Workshop papers (likely after being extended) to be submitted for
review to *a special edition of ACM TWEB*.
There are a lot of details for us to work on to make the TWEB special
edition happen and that means this year you should expect to receive the
Call for Paper for Wiki Workshop some time in late January to middle of
February 2023 (instead of the usual December time-frame).
I am very excited about the opportunity for the work of the Wikimedia
research and Wiki Workshop community to be published as part of ACM
Transactions on the Web and I'm very grateful to Ryen White,
Editor-in-Chief of ACM TWEB, for being welcoming in exploring this idea and
offering a special edition space (details tbd).
*Other changes*
There are some other high level schedule changes that we may make for the
2023 edition. If you like to stay informed about these changes at a
granular level and over time, you're welcome to subscribe to the
Phabricator task where these changes will be tracked:
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T313530 .
We hope to be back with more updates for you in early 2023.
Best,
Leila, Bob and Emily
p.s. Please note that I didn't run the text of this email with Bob and
Emily (cc-ed). We have coordinated and discussed these changes among
ourselves, and they're welcome to add/update as they see fit.
[1] https://wikiworkshop.org/
[2] https://www2023.thewebconf.org/
[3] https://wikiworkshop.org/2022/#papers
[4] https://dl.acm.org/journal/tweb
--
Leila Zia
Head of Research
Wikimedia Foundation
Pursuant to prior discussions about the need for a research
policy on Wikipedia, WikiProject Research is drafting a
policy regarding the recruitment of Wikipedia users to
participate in studies.
At this time, we have a proposed policy, and an accompanying
group that would facilitate recruitment of subjects in much
the same way that the Bot Approvals Group approves bots.
The policy proposal can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Research
The Subject Recruitment Approvals Group mentioned in the proposal
is being described at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Subject_Recruitment_Approvals_Group
Before we move forward with seeking approval from the Wikipedia
community, we would like additional input about the proposal,
and would welcome additional help improving it.
Also, please consider participating in WikiProject Research at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Research
--
Bryan Song
GroupLens Research
University of Minnesota
Hi all,
As part of our efforts to better serve the Wikimedia research community, we
are happy to share that we are collaborating with the Security team at WMF
to help prioritize the release of data that can be useful for your
research. The Security team is working to make more datasets privatized and
public to avoid the need for non-disclosure agreements. You can learn more
here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Differential_privacy.
Over the next 12 months, the Security team plans to release 5 datasets:
-
country-language-pageview ongoing (end of 2022)
-
country-language-pageview historical (March 2023)
-
geo-aggregated grants data back to 2009 (Feb 2023)
-
geoeditors monthly (June 2023)
-
dataset informed by research community priorities identified in this
survey (second half of 2023)
The released datasets need to meet certain privacy requirements:
-
They can not include any natural language (e.g. specific search queries
or deletion logs) so as to avoid the release of personally identifiable
information;
-
They need to be sufficiently large (at least thousands of entries,
preferably more) so as to reduce noise;
-
The data can not be so sensitive that an individual user will be harmed
by disclosure of the data (e.g. IP addresses, content containing personally
identifying information).
We invite you to complete a brief survey
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe_LAt6V2Q1GUf3Z8lnt8uAOZnHTO5rNgF…>
to help us identify and prioritize the types of datasets that you would
find useful for your work. Results of this survey will inform the fifth
dataset, scheduled to be released in late 2023. This survey is conducted
via a third-party service, which may subject it to additional terms. For
more information on privacy and data-handling, see the survey privacy
statement:
https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Legal:Data_Release_Priorities_Survey_…
The survey will remain open until November 3, 2022. After that time,
members of the Research and Security teams will review the data and report
out about the suggestions that were received and how the work will proceed.
If you prefer to not respond via the Google form, you can email your
feedback to us or set up a time to discuss. You can also leave questions
and comments on the Talk page:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Differential_privacy
Thanks for your help!
Emily Lescak, WMF Research team
Hal Triedman, WMF Security team
--
Emily Lescak (she / her)
Senior Research Community Officer
The Wikimedia Foundation
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) is inviting applications from qualified and highly motivated students for a Summer Research Visit.
The goal of the Population and Social Data Science Summer Incubator Program is to enable discovery by bringing together data scientists and population scientists to work on focused, intensive and collaborative projects of broad societal relevance.
For a period of 3 months (June 1st - August 25th, 2023) participating students will work in small teams, with support from experienced mentors, towards a common research goal. For the summer of 2023, confirmed organizers and mentors include Diego Alburez-Gutierrez, Aliakbar Akbaritabar, Monica Alexander (University of Toronto), Ugofilippo Basellini, and Emilio Zagheni. This summer, the focus of the program will be on forecasting, and on leveraging online crowd-sourced data.
Participating students will be exposed to best practices across the social sciences and data sciences while contributing to a hands-on project experience. All participants will also have access to lectures and participate in other scientific activities taking place at the MPIDR.
Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral, master's or undergraduate university program (at the time they visit the MPIDR). Selected candidates must obtain approval to participate in the program by their supervisor / administrator. The Incubator program values research teams that include early-career scientists from a range of disciplines and backgrounds, with complementary skill sets. Priority will be placed on bringing together a diverse pool of students. The total number of attendees will be defined based on resources and quality of applications. The mentors will provide seed projects and data ideas, with flexibility for students to put forward their own ideas as well.
Successful candidates will have demonstrated ability to work on research projects independently and in interdisciplinary teams, and interest in research problems related to both data science and the social sciences, broadly defined.
Applications must be submitted online<https://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/career_6122/jobs_fellowships_1910/population_a…> and include the following documents:
1. Curriculum Vitae
2. Cover letter (Max 2 page)
- Please state why you are interested in spending the summer at the MPIDR, and in which ways you would benefit from participating in the Incubator program.
- Please articulate your research interests and briefly describe a project you have worked on, the motivation for it and your contribution.
- Please describe your technical skills, as well what you would like to learn over the course of the Summer visit.
1. Names and contact information for 2 academic referees
In order to receive full consideration, applications should be received by January 15th 2023. Notifications will be sent out by March 2023. This will be an in-person summer program, and students will be expected to be in residence at the MPIDR in Rostock for the period of the research visit and to devote most of their working time to the collaborative research project during that period. Selected students enrolled in a PhD program will be offered reimbursement for travel costs to/from Rostock, and a stipend. Selected students who are not enrolled in a PhD program will be offered reimbursement for travel costs to/from Rostock, lodging in Rostock, and a per diem.
For administrative questions please get in touch with Beatrice Michaelis (michaelis(a)demogr.mpg.de<mailto:michaelis@demogr.mpg.de?subject=Incubator%20Program>). For scientific questions please contact Diego Alburez-Gutierrez [crowd-sourced data] (alburezgutierrez(a)demogr.mpg.de<mailto:alburezgutierrez@demogr.mpg.de?subject=Incubator%20Program>) or Aliakbar Akbaritabar [forecasting] (akbaritabar(a)demogr.mpg.de<mailto:akbaritabar@demogr.mpg.de?subject=Incubator%20Program>).
The Max Planck Society values diversity and is keen to employ individuals from minorities.
We are committed to increasing the number of individuals with disabilities in our institutes and therefore encourage applications from such qualified individuals. Furthermore, the Max Planck Society seeks to increase the number of women in those areas where they are underrepresented and therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.
--
This mail has been sent through the MPI for Demographic Research. Should you receive a mail that is apparently from a MPI user without this text displayed, then the address has most likely been faked. If you are uncertain about the validity of this message, please check the mail header or ask your system administrator for assistance.
Dear all,
Some time ago someone, possibly on this list, posted an announcement about
a researcher-friendly dataset covering all page protection log actions.
Does anybody remember it? I understand that the logging table is also
dumped as part of the regular database dumps, but being it a snapshot it is
hard to reconstruct when a page gets in and out of protection. I am pretty
sure I didn't dream it but since I cannot find it I thought it would worth
checking with my fellow wiki researchers.
Cheers,
*Giovanni Luca Ciampaglia* • Assistant Professor
University of Maryland • College of Information Studies (iSchool)
glciampaglia.com • ischool.umd.edu
Hello everyone,
The next Research Showcase will be live-streamed Wednesday, November 16, at
9:30 AM PST/16:30 UTC. Find your local time here
<https://zonestamp.toolforge.org/1668619830>.
YouTube stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFanZoHjUnY
Members of the Research team will collect questions on IRC at
#wikimedia-research and YouTube.
This month's theme is 'Libraries and Wikipedia Knowledge.'
In the first talk, Laurie Bridges (Oregon State University) and Michael
David Miller (McGill University) will co-present on Wikipedia and Academic
Libraries.
Abstract: In 2021 an open-access edited book, Wikipedia and Academic
Libraries: A Global Project <https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11778416>, was
published, featuring 20 chapters from over 50 authors. In this
presentation, Laurie Bridges, one of the co-editors, will discuss the
process for creating and publishing an OA-edited book. Michael David
Miller, one of the chapter authors, will discuss his chapter about
contributions to local Québécois LGBTQ+ content in Francophone Wikipedia.
The second talk will be on Ethical Considerations of Including Gender
Information in Open Knowledge Platforms, presented by Nerissa Lindsey (San
Diego State University).
Abstract: In recent years, galleries, libraries, archives, and museums
(GLAMs) have sought to leverage open knowledge platforms such as Wikidata
to highlight or provide more visibility for traditionally marginalized
groups and their work, collections, or contributions. Efforts like Art +
Feminism, local edit-a-thons, and, more recently, GLAM institution-led
projects have promoted open knowledge initiatives to a broader audience of
participants. One such open knowledge project, the Program for Cooperative
Cataloging (PCC) Wikidata Pilot, has brought together over seventy GLAM
organizations to contribute linked open data for individuals associated
with their institutions, collections, or archives. However, these projects
have brought up ethical concerns around including potentially sensitive
personal demographic information, such as gender identity, sexual
orientation, race, and ethnicity, in entries in an open knowledge base
about living persons. GLAM institutions are thus in a position of balancing
open access with ethical cataloging, which should include adhering to the
personal preferences of the individuals whose data is being shared. People
working in libraries and archives have been increasingly focusing their
energies on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their descriptive
practices, including remediating legacy data and addressing biased
language. Moving this work into a more public sphere and scaling up in
volume creates potential risks to the individuals being described. While
adding demographic information on living people to open knowledge bases has
the potential to enhance, highlight, and celebrate diversity, it could also
potentially be used to the detriment of the subjects through surveillance
and targeting activities. In our research we investigated the changing role
of metadata and open knowledge in addressing, or not addressing, issues of
under- and misrepresentation, especially as they pertain to gender identity
as described in the sex or gender property in Wikidata. We reported our
findings from a survey investigating how organizations participating in
open knowledge projects are addressing ethical concerns around including
personal demographic information as part of their projects, including what,
if any, policies they have implemented and what implications these
activities may have for the living people being described.
You can also watch our past research showcases here:
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Research/Showcase
We hope you can join us!
Warm regards,
Emily, on behalf of the WMF Research team
--
Emily Lescak (she / her)
Senior Research Community Officer
The Wikimedia Foundation
We are studying online Wikipedia training and editing to prototype and evaluate a collaborative training tool that can support Wikipedia trainers to train newcomers to Wikipedia remotely, and we want to invite you to participate in our research study anonymously.
If you agree to participate in this study, please click on the following questionnaire link so we can find out how familiar you are with Wikipedia and whether you have any experience in Wikipedia editing. It will take ~2 mins to complete.
At the end, you will be redirected to an online social ideation and voting tool called Tricider to view, comment, and vote on others' ideas about designing an online Wikipedia training tool and to add your ideas for others to discuss and vote on. Please beware of the Tricider website's adverts that would look like part of the listed ideas.
https://standrews.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8GuEdzPOGFaFrRc
Your contribution is important. Thank you.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact the researchers. Their details are below:
Contact Details
Researchers:
Abd Alsattar Ardati (aaa8(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
Dr Sara Thomas (sara.thomas(a)wikimedia.org.uk)
Dr Richard Nevell (richard.nevell(a)wikimedia.org.uk)
Dr Kirsty Ross (ksrh1(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
Supervisors:
Prof Ian Gent (ian.gent(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
Dr Alexander Voss (alex.voss(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
Dr Uta Hinrichs (uh3(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
Dr Angela Miguel (arm14(a)st-andrews.ac.uk)
School of Computer Science
University of St Andrews
Jack Cole Building
North Haugh
St Andrews KY16 9SX
+44 1334 46 3262