Survey/Analysis
We will try to make a simple analysis of the Survey in order to better understand the meaning of the numbers given by the statistical analysis, by taking a look into each question.
Remember we ran statistics on both the entire result set and on the individuals who claimed to live outside Argentina. Other statistical groups (attendees only, WMF staff, etc.) were not covered due to lack of time, but could be done if needed.
Q1
- I have been active in the Wikimedia projects for more than three years, and/or on average I spend an hour a day or more working on them (1)
- I am active or have been active in the projects in the past. Now I spend most of my time on organisational matters (chapters, real-life activities, etc.) (2)
- I have been active in the projects for less than one year, and/or I spend less than an hour per week working on them (3)
- I am moderately active/experienced (4)
- I am an observer or supporter (5)
Unsurprisingly, visitors seemed to have a lot more experience with Wikimedia projects than the entire set that also contains the locals. In both groups less than 60% were either active-experienced or very active users.
Q2
A bit less than half of the responders claimed to live in Argentina. This number is probably so high due to the fact that the organizing team, who were also invited to answer this survey, was mainly composed by locals.
Q3
- Contributor (time) (1)
- Contributor (money) (2)
- Supporter of Wikimedia (3)
- Colleague (partner or business relationship) (4)
- Supporter of free culture / open source (5)
- Supporter of the right to knowledge (6)
- Researcher or academic (7)
- Observer / onlooker (8)
In this multiple-answer question, the two response groups had similar preferences in this question.
Most claimed to support Wikimedia with their time, with only a fraction of them contributing with money as well.
Oddly enough, more people answered to be a supporter of Free Culture / Open Source (the right to knowledge).
Q4
- Attendee (first Wikimania) (1)
- Attendee (not my first Wikimania) (2)
- Organizer (3)
- Speaker (4)
- Local volunteer (5)
- Staff of the Wikimedia Foundation (6)
- Staff of the CCGSM (7)
- I helped organize/plan, but did not actually attend the conference (8)
In this, another multiple-answer question, we can't help but notice than more than half of the foreign subjects claimed to be Speakers too. This might mean Speakers had been more inclined to answer the survey than attendees, yet the percentage of speakers within the total of the participants is expected to have been very high.
Q5
- 5a:Communications before the conference (website, registration process, availability of information in general)
- 5b:Non-conference-supplied transportation (overall cost, convenience)
- 5c:Lodging (comfort, cleanliness, overall convenience)
- 5d:Conference venue
- 5e:Conference program overall (did it meet your expectations/needs)
- 5f:Quality of the keynote talks
- 5g:Quality of the workshops and presentations
- 5h:Quality of the lightning talks and poster sessions
- 5i:Communications during the conference (schedule changes, etc.)
- 5j:Food and drink during the conference (availability, quality, convenience)
- 5k:Support for impromptu socializing during the conference (availability of gathering spaces, comfort, convenience, hours)
- 5l:Organized social activities during the conference (parties and other organized gatherings)
- 5m:Communications after the conference
- 5n:Overall rating for Wikimania 2009
We present here only the 1-to-10 grade for each item, given the great quantity of them.
Generally, answers seem to be positive, with the lowest points being communications in general but especially after the event, the lightning and poster sessions (see conclusions) and the keynote talks (also see conclusions).
It is interesting to see that the overall rating is higher than any other item that was graded here. This suggest that there were items missing from this list, or that people focused on constructive criticisms giving a lower grade to those items than what they actually thought of them. Additionally, several questions had an important percentage of people without an opinion (5b, 5c, 5h above 30%), but only around 5%/3% didn't give an opinion for the overall rating.
It is also worth mentioning that more than 50% didn't have an opinion on the quality of the lightning talks and poster sessions, being for lack of interest or because they weren't informed about them.
Q6
- Select the statement that most closely matches your view
- I feel like Wikimania 2009 was designed for people like me (1)
- I feel like Wikimania 2009 was probably not designed for people like me, but I found it useful/enjoyable anyway (2)
- I feel like Wikimania 2009 was probably not a very good use of my time (3)
In general people didn't feel out of place at Wikimania, with the exception of one local.
18.02% of the participants living abroad felt Wikimania wan't "designed for people like [them]", perhaps a number a bit too high considering they travelled great distances to attend.
Q7
- Select the statement that most closely matches your situation
- I am part of the core Wikimedia community: I attended Wikimania 2009 in order to stay connected to the projects (1)
- I am fairly new to Wikimedia: I attended Wikimania 2009 to learn more about the projects (2)
- I am mostly a Wikimedia observer or supporter: I attended Wikimania 2009 mainly for professional/research/academic reasons (3)
As we saw before, participants living abroad were more involved with Wikimedia in general. 25.00% (14.41% foreigners) said to be rather new to Wikimedia, but still went to Buenos Aires to join us. An important percentage also attended to learn more about Wikimedia in spite of not participating actively with its projects.
Q8
- Check the affirmations that match your view
- I believe the workshop sessions at Wikimania should be longer so that topics can be explored in greater depth (1)
- The schedule at Wikimania is too densely packed: I wish there was more time set aside for casual socializing (2)
- I believe Wikimania too often takes place in "exotic" locations: it should focus more on cheapness and accessibility (3)
- Wikimania should be four days long instead of three (4)
- This year the party was on the last night. Please move it earlier, next time (5)
- I am comfortable with Wikimania being a little loose and casual: I do not want it to be more like an ordinary professionally-organized conference (6)
- I would like to see longer and more detailed descriptions of the sessions in the schedule (7)
- Wikimania should focus on the core Wikimedia community: outreach should not be one of its core goals (8)
People seem to be content with the locations chosen so far, having the party on the last night and Wikimania's reach target. A minority would like to see a bit more of a professional style organization, longer workshop sessions yet more free time, and more detailed descriptions of the sessions.
The most divided opinion was for the question of whether Wikimania should last 3 or 4 days.
Q9 to Q14
- Q9: If there was one thing you could change about Wikimania 2009, what would it be?
- Q10: If there was one piece of advice you could give specifically to the organizers of Wikimania 2010, what would it be?
- Q11: If there was one thing you would like to see changed about Wikimania in general, what would it be?
- Q12: If there was one workshop you would like to attend at Wikimania 2010, what would its topic be?
- Q13: If there was one person you would like to see speak at Wikimania 2010, who would that be?
- Q14: If you could give the people who design and plan Wikimania in general one piece of advice, what would it be?
Questions 9 to 14 asked for the opinion of the participant in different subject, with generally a good amount of comments around 40% to 60%. We will talk about the ansers in the conclusions, but please take a look at them through the links at the questions.
Q15
- Why did you attend Wikimania 2009?
- I wanted to meet up with other Wikimedians (1)
- I wanted to learn something about Wikimedia/Wikipedia (2)
- I wanted to share my experiences/knowledge with others (3)
- Scientific/academic/professional/research purposes (4)
Wikimedians like meeting Wikimedians, either to learn from their experiences, or share their own. An important group also claimed to have participated for more pragmatic purposes.
Other statistical information
We also have the rounded figures for nationality of the attendees, speakers, organization team and volunteers (without press and other participants).
| Country | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 45% |
| USA | 19% |
| Germany | 6% |
| Brazil | 3% |
| Netherlands | 3% |
| Chile | 2% |
| Canada | 2% |
| Israel | 1% |
| India | 1% |
| France | 1% |
| Spain | 1% |
| Mexico | 1% |
| Great Britain | 1% |
| Venezuela | 1% |
| Australia | 1% |
| Uruguay | less than 1% |
| Poland | less than 1% |
| Colombia | less than 1% |
| Austria | less than 1% |
| Dominican Republic | less than 1% |
| Sweden | less than 1% |
| Hong Kong | less than 1% |
| Japan | less than 1% |
| Finland | less than 1% |
| Ecuador | less than 1% |
| Iceland | less than 1% |
| Lithuania | less than 1% |
| New Zealand | less than 1% |
| Indonesia | less than 1% |
| Bolivia | less than 1% |