Usability, Experience, and Evaluation Study/Notes/Clayton

From Wikimedia Usability Initiative

Parul's Notes

  • Graduated from UCSD last year - bouncing around. Studying for my MCATS, applying to med school. Self employed as a tutor
  • Supplement my studies
  • I always go to google first to get to Wikipedia - first link on the page.
  • It's a big part of what the internet offers. Hold in high regard in accuracy - very accurate form of providing information. Gotten more popular and I stuck with it.
  • I take from, I don't feel like I'm in a position to give my input on a lot of thing because I don't have the expertise to edit. I work in biological sciences - no mistakes. Have been thinking about adding things about where I live.
  • Had a class project on a wiki - used webping like editing a some html not a lot - add pictures, text, hyperlinks. Other people are doing it at the same time. Edit it, submit it, approved in some way. Or not approved
  • Uses a table of contents to navigate the article.
  • 09:32 previews - that's pretty cool
  • RAINBOW BALLS
  • internal link - changes text
  • 15:00 would rather do it in the edit box
  • learns wikitext from having seen and used it from the dialog - deterred from dialog because of changing text.
  • googles for help
  • i tend not to go for help - usually google stuff out of habit
  • 21:20 cheatsheet - this is pretty neat, this helps me do different things. alright. i like this because i can look at it and edit at the same time.
  • uses external links because reflist is unintelligible.
  • i would keep playing around with it until i got it right
  • wouldn't really think to much about adding a reference unless i was doing scientific stuff
  • 35:55 had a knack for glancing over things. if i had to, an assignment to edit a wiki entry, i would like a video. i know google does that for it's suite of applications. (SEND THIS CLIP TO FRANK/OUTREACH). get me started kind of video - those couple things we did.
  • 37:00 one introduction!
  • now that i'm playing around with it, i'm interested in what else we can do.
  • 39:00 do good stuff
  • not sure how the verifcation process works.
  • 41:00 that would be a cool video too
  • the process made it easy, but i go to wikipedia to get information. this is kind of an eye opener for me. it's not hard at all.
  • talk: would talk about the process, but don't know who would mediate. this could be a magical land where everyone agrees.
  • what's to stop.....i'm familiar with vandalism. wikipedia police? this is neat, i might start going to the discussion part of an article. chat board.
  • everything above this ball....i don't even really look at.
  • opens up another page to look at that.
  • doesn't see the need for 1st level heading
  • maybe flip flop these?
  • edit template is more in the same them of what i'm doing in this wiki text.
  • lost on making a new article.
  • everyone looks in left navigation for it.
  • navigates left navigation with ease.
  • slightly confusing interaction on dialogs
  • table of contents on the right and how i can skip to things really quick. the markup was really easy.
  • once i feel like i have more confidence in having expertise in an area!
  • ctrl-v
  • play around with things
  • 1:15 need to have copy
  • part of our language. no one edits. i've never seen anyone edit. i think one time we were debating (someone) was dead.
  • 1:16 i'm glad that wikipedia is getting people to edit. would blow my mind. i like wikipedia because i feel like there is truth in the voices of the masses. this is a good way for all of those voices to come together. reality is seen to wikipedia. more people editing = greater accuracy.

Group notes

Search: 2:40 Google -> Wikipedia Doesn't go to wp first and search from wp to find out how to add sources to wikipedia, he googled "how to add references to wikipedia"

Thinks wikipedia is very accurate "wp is something i take from" doesn't feel he has expertise to contribute; "all that stuff is pretty solid, don't see many mistakes"; may edit local stuff

has experience with wikis via class project (wetpaint). editing is "almost like html, but not quite"

"approved in some way, or not approved" (thoughts on how the wikipedia article approval process works)

/me lets howie write things down

NTOC: "this is nifty" found it immediately

use to get alot of information

"Link" symbol automatically recognized Link dialog doesn't grab "closest link" if in a link Link default text change->not a feature? --Discouraged because the text "randomly changed"

"That's pretty convenient." using the wiki link feature Selected text and hit link icon.

Link to external page - doesn't like it when text to display = url - since text to display changes, would rather use wikitext to create external links

The label, "Wikitext" is understood.

"Citation help would be nice." Google searched for Wikipedia "help"

Likes the "cheat sheet" in the toolbar, "I can look and type at the same time." - but on most websites, tends not to use help

Spending quite a bit of time on adding references... - couldn't figure out syntax, so tried to copy the text from help menu and got something crazy - puzzled how extenal links show up in references, "I just keep playing around it until I get it right."


like Victoria, was looking for references in the External links section why haven't we converted all in-text references to out-of-text references? it is now technically possible

Compare the existing syntax and his intention, "what I was doing was right."

"Pretty easy" (Really? it looked struggle to me. NK)

« how would I put a link in my reference? » 31:30 "I only got a number." (implying the number in the references)

34:00 he's confused by the fact that when he wants to display the URL with the URL as label, the code is simply « http://truc.org » instead of « http://truc.org » (syntax for other links where the label is different from the URL)

"I would like a video, if I am asked to edit Wikipedia." (Getting started, overall sujet would be good.)

"Reference icon makes sense, but I'm not familiar with it" he's more familiar with icons from other applications (like Word)

License agreement dialog gives a long pause

"watch this page" -> email notification? or my edit is verified? "I don't know how Wikipedia is verified." (Thinking there is a body who verifies the content.)

Would you edit in the future? "The process made it really easy, and that is not obstacles any more. Yeah."

"I don't know where to go.", looking for "discussion" tab

"all the information on a wikipedia page is down". First thing he does on a page is to scroll down

thinks talk page is where you would discuss conflicts, but is uncertain who mediates. (calls it "chat board" or "message board")

"This is neat." (looking at the discussion page)

Task: add section --> Goes to hometown (Millbrae) adding section: - opened up a tab with Millbrae (BUT he went to wp home page and entered "millbrae" in wp search box) Opened "help" from the toolbar instead of expanding the toolbar to get advanced option confustion with "1st level heading" and what he sees (second level headings) (same as Victoria -- see also comments there)

Task: add table Found the table icon without problems Made connection of rows and columns by looking at the cells in the wikisyntax

Task: Templates Goes to the second browser tab to view the article, instead of using the "Read" tab Wants template to be part of NTOC Clicked on expand to wikitext first Rolls up and down and found the infobox capsule Expanded the template using inline expansion (not dialog) "Not as easy as I had hoped for."

"drop down menu is safe" since he doesn't think he's gonna go anywhere else with the expand icon

Template Dialog: Should it be alphabetized? right now in order of display, but might be disconnect

Thinks it's a link

Thinks the form icon does something completely different

Wants ability to jump to specific part of form

eachtime he previews his changes, he has to scroll back up to the top ofthe page to switch to the wikitext view again. It may make sense tohave a continuous view switcher bar on the left of the page orsomething.

"I don't want to click links, because it takes me somewhere else" (pointing to the blue underlined capsule names)

59:45 "the drop-down menu is safe"

"This is pretty neat too." (looking at the "View History" page)

Wishes "Add a page" tab on the top Suggests a wizard

Likes: the NTOC on the right reference was easier than i thought


What would make you contribute? "One I feel like I have more expertise in an area" In the future, a biography of a colleague that becomes famous stuff that he's passionate about -- he either agrees with or trusts the information

Says he would edit small errors (e.g., spelling)

Task: Adding images Chose image gallery, inserted a link into a capiton -> does not work

"Wikipedia is part of our language, but..." None of his friends would edit, unless it was just for kicks "believes there is truth in voices of the masses" "reality is seen through wikipedia"


"(as) more people edit, it(wp) would be more accurate."