Research:Wikipedia and contested articles related to the Russo-Ukrainian War
This page documents a research project in progress.
Information may be incomplete and change as the project progresses.
Please contact the project lead before formally citing or reusing results from this page.
This page provides information on a research study seeking to understand the experience of Wikipedia editors maintaining pages related to the war in Ukraine. If you are a potential interview participant, please read this page in full before agreeing to be in the study.
This study is being conducted by PhD student Laura Kurek, Dr. Ceren Budak, and Dr. Eric Gilbert at the School of Information at the University of Michigan.
Purpose of the Study[edit]
The purpose of this study is to understand what challenges Wikipedia has faced while maintaining articles related to the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war, a conflict where information manipulation is a concern.
Methods[edit]
A semi-structured interview study using both targeted and snowball sampling strategies. The interview data will be anonymized, transcribed, and analyzed using grounded theory approach.
Policy, Ethics and Human Subjects Research[edit]
This study, HUM00240548, has been approved by the University of Michigan IRB - Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences.
Eligibility to Participate[edit]
Participants must be adults (i.e., at least 18 years old in the United States, or over the age of majority in your jurisdiction), be able to conduct an interview in English, and have experience editing or participating in Talk Page discussions related to the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Procedures for the Study[edit]
If you agree to be in the study, you will first complete a short questionnaire about your editing experience with Wikipedia. You will then participate in an interview conducted remotely by video. The interview will consist of questions about your experience editing articles and engaging in Talk Page discussions related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as your involvement in Wikipedia processes to maintain information integrity on such articles.
The interview should last between 30 and 90 minutes. The interviews will be recorded and then transcribed. We will delete the recordings once the interviews are fully transcribed. We will also edit out any identifiers from these transcripts so that all retained records are anonymous.
Voluntary Participation and Withdrawal[edit]
Taking part in this study is voluntary. You may choose not to take part or choose to leave the study at any time. Leaving the study will not result in any penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. Your decision of whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with the University of Michigan.
Confidentiality[edit]
We will endeavor to keep your personal information confidential. However, we cannot guarantee absolute confidentiality. Your personal information may be disclosed if required by law. Your identifying information and audio/video recording of our conversation will be held in confidence until the reports resulting from the study are published, after which they will be deleted. Your email addresses and usernames will be retained as long as required by the university’s financial compliance and will be deleted as soon as possible.
Payment for Participation[edit]
You will be compensated with a $30 gift card, unless you choose to opt out of compensation.
Further questions[edit]
If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, contact the lead researcher, Laura Kurek, at lkurek at umich dot edu. The work is being supervised by Dr. Eric Gilbert, Associate Professor at the University of Michigan.
If you questions about your rights as a research subject, you may contact the UM IRB Health Sciences and Behavioral Sciences (HSBS) at irbhsbs@umich.edu or 734-936-0933
Screening Questionnaire[edit]
Recruitment has closed for this study.