Researchers evaluated The Wikipedia Adventure (TWA) through a survey and a field experiment. Approximately 11,000 new editors were invited through Wikipedia talk pages to use the tutorial and were subsequently surveyed about their confidence and engagement in editing. The field experiment included 1,967 accounts: 1,751 were randomly assigned to receive a TWA invitation, while the remaining 216 formed a control group that received no invitation. Editing behavior in both groups was observed for 180 days.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Google

Purpose:
- How new users perceive the system design and tone (via survey~11,000 editors)
- If using TWA led to making more contributions prior to being invited to participate in the tutorial (via field experiment~1,967 editors)

Results:
- From the survey, users found TWA engaging and well-designed for new users.
- Even though new users say that TWA is very useful and helps new editors, the results from the field experiment report that TWA did not effect editing contributions)


Purpose and Summary of Results

- 91% of respondents said that TWA is an useful introduction to edit Wikipedia

- 90% of respondents agreed (strongly agreed) that TWA made them feel more confident as an editor and helped them develop a better understanding of Wikipedia

- 85% said that TWA is very useful on reviewing Wiki's policies

- 80% responded that TWA encourages them to make more edits. They also reported that they felt welcome and supported

Survey Results

After using TWA, new editors will:
- Increase the number of overall contributions
- Increase the number of contributions on talk pages
- Create contributions of greater quality

Hypotheses

- 22% of invited editors completed some part of the tutorial.
- 46% of participating editors played until the seventh and final mission.
- The first mission lost the most editors (24% after completion), with dropout rates decreasing after the first mission.

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