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Understanding and supporting online communities of practice: lessons learned from Wikipedia

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Abstract

In order to seek more effective ways to design and support online communities of practice, we examined how Wikipedia, a large-scale online community of practice, is developed and emerges over time. We conducted a Delphi study to explore the social, organizational, and technical factors that Wikipedia experts believe have supported the evolution of this community. Based on the findings, we present a model for thinking about online communities of practice and suggest it may serve as starting point to develop strategies of designing and supporting online communities of practice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Lehigh University, Iacocca Hall, 111 Research Drive, Bethlehem, PA, 18015, USA

    Xiaoli Zhao & M. J. Bishop

Authors
  1. Xiaoli Zhao
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  2. M. J. Bishop
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Correspondence to M. J. Bishop.

Appendix

Appendix

Informational questionnaire

  1. 1.

    Gender [pull-down]

  2. 2.

    Age [pull-down]

  3. 3.

    Which country do you live in? [pull-down]

  4. 4.

    What is your profession? [fill-in]

  5. 5.

    Are you a Wikipedia editor? [yes/no pull-down]

    1. a.

      If yes, how long have you been an editor? [pull-down: 0–1 year, 1 < 2 years, 2 < 3 years, 3 < 4 years, 4 < 5 years, more than 5 years]

    2. b.

      If yes, how often do you edit? [pull-down: once or twice a year, once a month, once a week, once a day, several times a day]

  6. 6.

    Are you a Wikipedia administrator? [yes/no pull-down]

    1. a.

      If yes, for how long have you been serving as an administrator? [pull-down: 0–1 year, 1 < 2 years, 2 < 3 years, 3 < 4 years, 4 < 5 years, more than 5 years]

    2. b.

      If yes, what is your responsibility as an administrator? [fill-in]

  7. 7.

    Have you participated in Wikipedia projects in ways other than editing and administrating? [yes/no pull-down].

  8. 8.

    If yes, in what other ways have you participated? [fill-in]

  9. 9.

    Please describe your Wikipedia research interests: [fill-in]

  10. 10.

    Please describe your Wikipedia research experience to date (studies conducted, results presented, publications, and the like): [fill-in]

  11. 11.

    Which language version of Wikipedia do you use the most? [pull-down]

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Zhao, X., Bishop, M.J. Understanding and supporting online communities of practice: lessons learned from Wikipedia. Education Tech Research Dev 59, 711–735 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-011-9204-7

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