[WikiEN-l] New Pew Internet report: 36% of Americans consult Wikipedia

[Kevin Guidry]

   Just a quick reminder that the subject line of this message (and it
was repeated in the 2007-04-30 Signpost) is slightly incorrect.  The
data memo says that about 36% of *online American adults* have
consulted Wikipedia.  Two important words there were left out of the
subject line: online and adults.  I assert that both of those are very
important.
   *If* we assume that the original 2200 participants in Pew's surveys
are representative of the American adult population (a dubious
assumption without additional data), then the actual percentage of
adult Americans who have used Wikipedia drops to just under 25%.
That's still a lot but that's a pretty big drop from 36%.  If one
wanted a more accurate number, one should consult some Internet
penetration numbers for the U.S. to see what proportion of the adult
population that 36% of Internet users comes out to be.
   The "adult" part of their study is probably also very important but
the data is much more sketchy.  It's likely that younger Americans use
Wikipedia more than adults.  There is definitely a trend in the Pew
data but it would be poor science to extend that trend without data.
Does anyone know of any data to support or reject this educated guess:
Do more a higher or different proportion of teens and children use
Wikipedia?


Kevin