Research:Newcomer interaction dashboard

From Meta, a Wikimedia project coordination wiki

This page documents a proposed research project.
Information may be incomplete and may change before the project starts.


How many good-faith, active newcomers were welcome today? What proportion showed up in the Teahouse? What's the survival rate of users who joined two months ago and how much value did they add?

By quantifying the answers to these and related questions, we could bring visibility to the changing reality for newcomers in Wikipedia. In this project we will construct a dashboard of key newcomer interaction and outcome metrics. This dashboard would be presented to Wikipedians who work at the boundaries where newcomers tend to enter Wikipedia (vandal fighters, new page patrollers, etc.) and discussions raised about the status, trends and desirable futures.

A conceptual diagram of newcomer entrance into Wikipedia is presented. The green dots represent newcomers. Wikipedia is presented as having a membrane thick with maze structures. The blue and yellow are CVU and NPP. The light green are Teahouse hosts and other mentors.
The newcomer entrance maze and boundary workers. A conceptual diagram of newcomer entrance into Wikipedia is presented. The green dots represent newcomers. Wikipedia is presented as having a membrane thick with maze structures. The blue and yellow are CVU and NPP. The light green are Teahouse hosts and other mentors.