Einar Spetz’ blog

I use this blog to comment on issues related to Wikipedia. To me, WP is not solely a free encyclopedia. It’s also a popular movement that I belong to. Others don’t. More than to tell anyone what to think about Wikipedia, I want to learn about people’s views on this particular encyclopedia.

I have conducted two studies on how Wikipedia is received at school, by the pupils and by their teachers. The principal of both studies was The Stockholm County Library:

The initial study Wikipedias fel och brister – en angelägenhet för biblioteken? (2008) is in its full length available only in Swedish, though you can read a short English version here on this blog. In July 2008, I had the privilege of presenting the results of this study at the Wikimania in Alexandria (EGY) – the annual Wikimedia world conference.

The following study was titled Wikipedia – älskat eller avskytt? In English, that would be Wikipedia – a story of love or hate? This study was based on questionnaire-answers from 266 teachers at upper secondary schools in the greater Stockholm area. A (beta) translation to English is now availible. Note: Appendix 1 and Appendix 2
At Wikimania 2009 in Buenos Aires (ARG), I presented the most important findings of this study.