The never ever perfect encyclopedia : an ethnographic analysis of participation in Wikipedia

Abstract: Wikipedia represents ‘the sum of all human knowledge’ and is becoming the authoritative source on the Internet. As a collective work, how exactly are articles created by editors? The aim of the study is to seek the answer by use of participation theory. Instead of considering the active and visible editors, the thesis attempts to shed light on the hidden side of Wikipedia through netnographical analysis of archives. Wikipedia correspondingly becomes the field site while the case selection is the guideline ‘Notability(academics)’. The data on which the analysis at the heart of the case is based is retrieved from ‘Talk’ pages affiliated to the case. The selection of data narrows down to one archive as the gem of ‘small data’. Furthermore, Wikipedia is analysed as a civic cultural phenomenon from an analytic framework. Through the use of netnography, the thesis outlines the dynamic period of how the article ‘Notability(academics)’ constructed from scratch to a documented guideline accepted by participants. Following on that, the data is positioned in a more theoretical discussion by virtue of relevant theory on public sphere, participation, rational discussion and procedural-deliberation. The thesis therefore provides sight into the backstage of how the consensus is achieved in combination with mechanism of Wikipedia. Lastly, the thesis will conclude by the suggestion that the contents in the site are as a result of both the participants and the site. However, the participation is largely influenced and controlled by the rules of the site. By exploring Wikipedia through six dimensions of civic culture, the further mobilisation of civic engagement can be drawn upon.