User:Bluerasberry/Readership of Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Readership of Wikipedia includes all consumers of Wikipedia. Various studies have described Wikipedia as the world's most popular reference source and in 2007 began including Wikipedia in lists of top-10 websites by web traffic.[2] Most readers arrive at Wikipedia by following a search engine, although large numbers also arrive through social media.[3] Wikipedia is remarkable as a gateway which channels its readers to examine the sources which Wikipedia editors have cited.[4] The reader click-through rate of Wikipedia images is about 1/30, and for citations it is 1/300.[5] Research topics in discussing Wikipedia's readers include how many people read Wikipedia, demographics of readers, reader interest in particular categories of Wikipedia articles, the extent of Wikipedia engagement among readers, how credible readers find Wikipedia, and critiques of technological tools which interact with Wikipedia to provide additional insights to readers.[2]
Two-thirds of Wikipedia readers are men, and when men visit Wikipedia they access more articles per reading session than women.[6] Wikipedia has a global and multilingual readership.[6] Examination of Wikipedia readers across demographics including gender, country, wealth, languages used, and educational background reveal more trends in reading habits than researchers have been able to report.[7] Health information on Wikipedia is an especially examined area where researchers have compiled evidence that patients, medical students, and doctors all routinely consult Wikipedia.[8][9]
Since Wikipedia is a user-generated content platform, its content contributors are a portion of the readership.[10] The readers and editors together form a complex social and media ecosystem which many researchers have described.[11] While much research examines Wikipedia editor behavior, there is less available research on Wikipedia's readers.[12] Part of the explanation for the lack of research on readers is that Wikipedia provides privacy to its readers, and consequently, reader click path and session time data are not generally available.[12]