Wikipedia: Measuring Stability

Matthew C. SkinnerSewanee: University of the South

Sewanee, Tennessee

#0353637

Outline

- Introduction

-What is C redibility

- Measuring Credibility

- Stability

- Measurement

- Concluding Remarks

Introduction: What is Credibility?

Introduction: What is Credibility?

1. The quality, capability, or power to elicit belief.

2. A capacity for belief: a story that strained our credibility.

Taken from Dictionary.com

Introduction: What is Credibility?

believability, chance, integrity,

likelihood, plausibility, possibility,

probability, prospect, reliability,

satisfactoriness, solidity, solidness,

soundness, tenability, trustworthiness,

validity

Taken from Dictionary.com

Introduction: What is Credibility?

- Not Concrete

- Not Defined

- Why?

Introduction: What is Credibility?

Credibility is a perceived notion.

Credibility is a quale.

Introduction: What is Credibility?

Credibility is a perceived notion.

Credibility is a perceived quale.

What is a quale?

Each person has their own conceptual framework.

Introduction: What are Qualia?

Formal Definition by Daniel Dennett:

1.) ineffable; that is, they cannot be

communicated, or apprehended by any

other means than direct experience.

Pulled from

ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Introduction: What are Qualia?

2.) intrinsic; that is, they are non-

relational properties, which do not change

depending on the experience's relation to

other things.

Pulled from ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Introduction: What are Qualia?

3.) private; that is, all interpersonal

comparisons of qualia are systematically

impossible.

Pulled from ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Introduction: What are Qualia?

4.) directly or immediately apprehensible

in consciousness; that is, to experience a

quale is to know one experiences a quale,

and to know all there is to know about that

quale.

Pulled from ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Introduction: What is Credibility?

Credibility is a perceived notion.

Credibility is a quale of reality

How do we make sense of credibility ?

Background: Dividing Credibility

Trustworthiness and Expertise – a matter of degree.

Background: Dividing Credibility

Trustworthiness and Expertise – a matter of degree.

Trustworthiness- how truthful and

unbiased a source is.

Background: Dividing Credibility

Expertise - the degree of competence and knowledgeability of a source.

The the more trustworthy and more expert a source is the more credible it becomes.

Background: Dividing Credibility

- Presumed

- Reputed

- Surface

- Experience

Measuring Credibility: Internet

Two methods:

Manual – human assessment

Automatic – computer assisted

Measuring Credibility: Manual

- Ease of information verification

- Brick and Mortar

- Credentials

- Personable

- Ease of contact

Measuring Credibility: Manual

- Site Design

- Ease of use

- Recent content

- Little or no ads; no pop-ups

- No typos, or typographical errors

Measuring Credibility: Automatic

- Quantify and measure the criteria for a credible website.

- Use metadata to determine the overall condition of the document.

Measuring Credibility: Wikipedia

- Each article has a history page describing the date, time, and identity of the editor.

- The identity is either a username or an IP address.

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

- The frequency of edits help determine an article’s stability.

- Stability is how much an article changes over time.

- Stability alone does not determine an article’s credibility.

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

Assumption: the more stable an article the more credible the article is.

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

Assumption: the more stable an article the more credible the article is.

What is a stable article?

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

What is a stable article?

- Not a simple answer.

- External Influences

- Temporal

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

Protection: Semi or Full

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

Real World Events

- Natural Disasters

- Web Links

- Mainstream media

Measuring Stability: Wikipedia

Articles tend to increase on the number of edits over time.

Possible Reasons: - Wikipedia has gained popularity

- The article has gained more interest

Concluding Remarks

- Credibility is a perceived notion and a quale. - Measuring credibility- humans or computer - Stability is how much an article changes over time.

- Improvement: include content change

Acknowledgements

I appreciate the following for their help:

- Carolina Eastman - John Bowles - Libby Alford - Roxanne Spray - Chaitanya Evani

I also thank NSF for their funding