Research:Labs2/Hackathons/November 9th, 2013/Meetups/Oxford, UK

Location: Oxford, UK

Taha Yasseri will host a local event at the Oxford Internet Institute.

When: The events starts at 10 am on Saturday November 9th and lasts till 6 pm. Where: 1 St Giles' office of Oxford Internet Institute.

To sign up for this event, please add your name to this list.

Need help or more information? Email the host.

Schedule

1000-1015 — Meetup begins. Warm up and ice-breaking.
1015-1045 — Introductions, discussion of the event format, schedule and goals.
1045-1115 — Idea sharing
1115-1200 — Morning Work Session: Project groups begin pursuing their projects for the remainder of the morning.
1200-1215 — Preliminary project reporting: Each project reports back to the group about what they've been doing.
1215-1400 — Lunch break
1400-1630 — Afternoon Work Session: Project groups re-convene to continue working.
1630-1700 — Afternoon Tea and Conclusions.
1700-1800 — Video Conference with Other Hackatons.

FAQ

How do I get there?

The OII is located at 1 St Giles, OX1 3JS Oxford.

It's a 10 minutes walk from the Oxford train station. More information is available here.

What do I need to bring?

Bring a laptop computer and a charger. And probably a pen and paper for note-taking. Wifi access codes will be available for all participants. Other than that, bring questions and ideas!

What's the official hashtag of the event?

We'll be using #wikiresearch as the hashtag for the hackathon.

Do I need to do anything to prepare?

There are no necessary preparations, but here are a couple of recommendations.

If you don't have a Wikipedia account, create one. The same account works across all Wikimedia sites.
If you're interested in running MySQL queries against databases of Wikipedia, you should get a head start by creating a free Wikimedia Labs account. Some instructions to get you started are available here. mail us if you get stuck (I got stuck!).
Communication/coordination will happen mostly via IRC and a Google Hangout. If you already have an IRC handle, please join the #wikimedia-labs2^connect channel. Otherwise, you can use this [web-based IRC client.

What if I can only be there in the [morning/afternoon]?

The research hackathon is a casual affair. It's fine if you can only make it for part of the day. The morning session is probably the most important. If you have to choose, attending the morning session will probably be more useful for understanding Wikipedia and wiki-research in general.

Will we talk about [insert topic here]?

If you want to talk about a topic, we can! That's what the agenda-setting session is for: we will figure out what we're interested in learning and doing, and then we do it.

A few of the many possible topics for conversation & hacking include:

Wikipedia data (analysis, visualization, uses)
history and culture
qualitative research methods
quantitative research methods
designing tools to support the community and its mission
previous research on Wikipedia
the Wikipedia gender gap
user experience
research ethics
starting a new research project
getting involved in existing projects

Can I work with someone at one of the other hackathons?

There will be a Google Hangout and an open IRC channel for the Hackathon that will be open throughout the day. Because some of the hackathons are happening on the other side of the world, our day won't overlap completely with theirs. But you will be able to work and connect with anyone from the other sites (as well as virtual participants) at any time throughout the day, as long as you're both awake and online.

Is lunch provided?

Yes! foods and drinks are provided in the restaurants and pubs around, but most likely you have to pay for yourself.