User:Sneha (CIS-A2K)/IR2021

Research Updates for Impact Report 2020-21[edit]

The research component for APG 2020-21 was planned as a continuation of work on important aspects of Indian language Wikimedia content and communities, but also with the objective of undertaking further research based on learnings from the previous year. All six projects initiated at the beginning of this component were completed, which were as follows:

The final reports of these studies offer insights from conversations with contributors across multiple language communities, and delve into a range of topics in close alignment with existing work in the programme. These include opportunities and challenges in content creation and access across specific projects, creating multilingual and open educational platforms and resources, to an understanding of asymmetries in content and participation due to socio-cultural factors such as the gender gap. The final reports (including translations for two of them) are now available on Wikimedia Meta-Wiki and the CIS website, and have been shared with the relevant mailing lists for community feedback. A compilation of the final reports is now available on Wikimedia Commons as well.

Wikiworkshop 2021[edit]

The research work undertaken by the team over the last couple of years was shared at the Wikiworkshop 2021 held virtually and as part of The Web Conference 2021. Along with an overview of the projects, the research supervisor presented key observations and learnings from the projects completed thus far. This was primarily with the objective of gathering feedback that may help design next steps of the research at A2K, and further align these efforts with areas of work and interest in the larger movement. Former A2K team member, Bhuvana Meenakshi Koteeswaran also shared insights on bridging the gender gap in Indian language Wikimedia communities, as part of a lightning talk on the recently published report on the study undertaken as part of her research with A2K. In addition to these, an overview and insights from the research were shared in a short essay on digital infrastructures and languages published in Seminar magazine.

Research Needs Assessment and Ongoing Work[edit]

This year a research needs assessment was undertaken with the objective of understanding broadly the existing knowledge gaps and areas of focus in Indian language Wikimedia communities, in terms of content, platforms and community engagement, and the role that research may play in addressing the same. The needs assessment was shared on all relevant community mailing lists, and received a small but interesting set of responses. It identified a set of challenges, primarily related to technological/infrastructural gaps, and training/capacity-building needs of communities. Despite the limited responses, the needs assessment offered some important insights into areas of focus for upcoming work and research with Indian language Wikimedia projects. A short-term research study on mapping and documentation of content in Indian languages on water resources in India was also initiated, and is to be led by a team member. The concept note and research design for the study were completed, and online sessions were conducted with eight organisations to finalise the questionnaire. Organisations were selected based on areas of work - awareness, training, planning/designing of projects, execution on ground, monitoring & evaluation, and documenting/building archives. However, as the representatives of these organisations were unaware of Wikimedia projects, at least one offline meeting is required. Owing to travel restrictions due to the pandemic these visits could be undertaken; the study will now be continued in the next program year with a revised timeline.

Observations and Learnings[edit]

The process of working on these studies offer us several learnings, given the diverse contexts of the projects and the capacities and interests of the team members themselves. The studies used mostly qualitative methods, and capacity building for team members was undertaken through close collaboration and supervision. There was also considerable effort in designing and modifying the studies to ensure they were accessible to the wider community of people engaged with them. The research process and related challenges such as translation, revealed several interesting gaps, like the lack of technical terms related to digitization and open access in Indian languages for example. The COVID-19 pandemic led to restrictions on offline visits, and to a change in methods as well as reliance on online conversations

The overall experience of working on this component has also highlighted important questions of awareness, relevance and impact. There is little easily accessible research on Wikimedia in the Indian context (outside of academic spaces), which poses limitations in designing further work. The limited awareness about, and imagined relevance and impact of research for Wikimedia projects has also been a challenge in framing these conversations. The needs assessment illustrates that few community members are aware of research on Wikimedia projects being undertaken in India or at a global level. The studies undertaken as part of this component also focus on short-term impact, in the form of best practices and recommendations etc. While this approach is best suited to small studies, it often frames research within an instrumental lens to identify problems, solutions and their implementation, often without a critical analysis of larger, systemic and structural issues. It is important therefore that future processes of research design address these challenges, in order to create a long-term, sustainable and self-reflexive model of engagement with work in this area.