User:Sneha (CIS-A2K)/PR2022

The research component of CIS-A2K's work was initiated in 2019, with the objective of collaborating with other programmes at CIS and drawing on this work and expertise, as well as building additional capacities and skills within the team. In addition to identifying and studying persistent knowledge gaps in areas such as content creation, participation, access, and outreach, the work under this component also looks at possible ways to address them through strategies and recommendations. A series of six short-term research projects on diverse topics related to Wikimedia projects such as content creation and open access, multilingual pedagogy, gender bias/gap, and study of specific projects and campaigns were completed over the last couple of years. A compilation of these reports is now available on Wikimedia Commons as well.

In 2021, the A2K team continued work on this component, to explore and map areas of development and challenges within Indian language Wikimedia communities, based on learnings and reflections on work undertaken over the previous years. The three studies undertaken this year are as follows:

Exploring Knowledge Repositories on Water Resources in India: This project aims to understand the impact of the digital transition on resources related to rivers in India, and possible ways to build their digital documentation for better public access. The methods for the project comprise semi-structured interviews with selected organisations working in key thematic areas such as - awareness, training, planning/designing of projects, execution on ground, monitoring & evaluation, documenting/building archives related to water resources in India. Eight organisations, Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development And Management (ACWADAM), Action for Agricultural Renewal in Maharashtra (AFARM), BAIF Development Research Foundation, Manavlok, South Asia Network of Rivers, Dams and People (SANDRP), Tarun Bharat Sangh, Water and Land Management Insititute (WALMI) and WOTR were shortlisted, and online introductory sessions were held with some of them. A detailed interview was conducted with ACWADAM, and conversations on content donation were also initiated. There have been delays in the data collection process owing to pandemic related restrictions on in-person meetings, and the methods and timeline of the project has been revised keeping these factors in mind. Data collection, largely through online meetings, is to be completed over the next few months, and will be followed by analysis and report writing.

Mapping Repositories on Gender and Sexuality in Indian languages: This study is an effort to continue the work initiated by programmatic and research work undertaken under the broader area of bridging the gender gap on Indian language Wikimedia projects. While there are significant ongoing efforts in this area, undertaken by communities primarily, the objective of this research study is to understand the larger, mainstream discourse around gender, sexuality and feminism online, in Indian languages. Through conversations with organisations and individuals working in the above areas, the project seeks to understand the process of content creation and knowledge production related to gender, sexuality and feminism, and possibilities of bringing them online through open knowledge platforms such as Wikimedia projects. Key tasks such as finalisation of research design, developing questionnaires and selection of respondents were completed over the first four months, until December 2021. Interviews are currently underway as part of this project, which will be followed by review of data and report writing.

Study on Infrastructural Needs of Indian Language Wikisource Projects: This is a pilot study on infrastructural needs of Wikisource platforms in India, with a focus on identifying current challenges and knowledge gaps in technological capacity, resources and training. The study will aim to present a set of learnings and recommendations on potential strategies to address these gaps, including through collaborative intervention and training. The project currently looks at three Indian language Wikisource projects – Tamil, Assamese and Malayalam, following a mixed methods approach comprising surveys, interviews with key community members and review of discussion pages and statistics over the last two years. Presently, the research design has been finalised and shared for internal and community feedback. Questionnaires and survey forms have been developed, and respondents have been identified from the three focus languages. Data collection is due to commence shortly on this project, and will be completed over the next couple of months. This will be followed by analysis and compilation of learnings in the form of a final report.

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Research Dissemination

In addition to the specific research projects mentioned, the team also worked on sharing the work undertaken and earlier outputs produced as part of this component at various forums, including Wikimedia communities and with other related stakeholders. We have been working on a strategy for better dissemination of research work as well. Some of the key events where research work was presented include:

Creative Commons Global Summit: Presentation on learnings from the study on 'Mapping GLAM in Maharashtra, India' and related research at CIS on open access to digital cultural heritage and digital humanities, with a focus on mapping larger challenges and best practices for GLAM in India.
#CultureForAll Conference on Cultural Mapping: Presentation on the A2K research, with a focus on learnings from the completed research projects and an overview of the ongoing work for 2021-22.
Wikisource Eighteenth Birthday Celebrations: Presentation on the ongoing study on 'Infrastructural Needs of Indian Language Wikisource Projects'.

Work is also underway on developing a research dissemination strategy, in order to effectively share the outputs from these projects among the Indian language Wikimedia communities, but also a larger group of stakeholders and a general audience. The strategy outlines aspects such as communication channels, forms and formats, language and expertise among other factors that may facilitate better circulation of research work and encourage a discussion on these topics. The work is being led by the research associate, and a draft of this strategy has presently been shared for internal feedback within the team.