We are glad to announce the inaugural issue of the Wikimedia Research Newsletter [1], a new monthly survey of recent scholarly research about Wikimedia projects. This is a joint project of the Signpost [2] and the Wikimedia Research Committee [3] and follows the publication of two research updates in the Signpost, see also last month's announcement on this list [4].
The first issue (which is simultaneously posted as a section of the Signpost and as a stand-alone article in the Wikimedia Research Index) includes 5 "in depth" reviews of papers published over the last few months and a number of shorter notes for a total of 15 publications, covering both peer-reviewed research and results published in research blogs. It also includes a report from the Wikipedia research workshop at OKCon 2011 and highlights from the Wikimedia Summer of Research program.
The following is the TOC of issue #1:
• 1 Edit wars and conflict metrics • 2 The anatomy of a Wikipedia talk page • 3 Wikipedians as "Janitors of Knowledge" • 4 Use of Wikipedia among law students: a survey • 5 Miscellaneous • 6 Wikipedia research at OKCon 2011 • 7 Wikimedia Summer of Research • 7.1 How New English Wikipedians Ask for Help • 7.2 Who Edits Trending Articles on the English Wikipedia • 7.3 The Workload of New Page Patrollers & Vandalfighters • 8 References
We are planning to make the newsletter easy to syndicate and subscribe to. If you wish your research to be featured, a CFP or event you organized to be highlighted, or just join the team of contributors, head over to this page to find out how: [5] We hope to make this newsletter a favorite reading for our research community and we look forward to your feedback and contributions.
Dario Taraborelli, Tilman Bayer (HaeB) on behalf of the WRN contributors