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Information asymmetry in Wikipedia across different languages: A statistical analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Dwaipayan Roy
  • Sumit Bhatia
  • Prateek Jain

Abstract

Wikipedia is the largest web‐based open encyclopedia covering more than 300 languages. Different language editions of Wikipedia differ significantly in terms of their information coverage. In this article, we compare the information coverage in English Wikipedia (most exhaustive) and Wikipedias in 8 other widely spoken languages, namely Arabic, German, Hindi, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. We analyze variations in different language editions of Wikipedia in terms of the number of topics covered as well as the amount of information discussed about different topics. Further, as a step towards bridging the information gap, we present WikiCompare—a browser plugin that allows Wikipedia readers to have a comprehensive overview of topics by incorporating missing information from Wikipedia page in other language.

Suggested Citation

  • Dwaipayan Roy & Sumit Bhatia & Prateek Jain, 2022. "Information asymmetry in Wikipedia across different languages: A statistical analysis," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(3), pages 347-361, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jinfst:v:73:y:2022:i:3:p:347-361
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.24553
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brendan Luyt, 2013. "History on Wikipedia: In need of a NWICO (New World Information and Communication Order)? the case of Cambodia," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(6), pages 1193-1202, June.
    2. Ewa S. Callahan & Susan C. Herring, 2011. "Cultural bias in Wikipedia content on famous persons," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(10), pages 1899-1915, October.
    3. Brendan Luyt, 2013. "History on Wikipedia: In need of a NWICO (New World Information and Communication Order)? the case of Cambodia," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(6), pages 1193-1202, June.
    4. Ewa S. Callahan & Susan C. Herring, 2011. "Cultural bias in Wikipedia content on famous persons," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(10), pages 1899-1915, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Thorsten Ruprechter & Keith Burghardt & Denis Helic, 2023. "Poor attention: The wealth and regional gaps in event attention and coverage on Wikipedia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Wenceslao Arroyo‐Machado & Adrián A. Díaz‐Faes & Enrique Herrera‐Viedma & Rodrigo Costas, 2024. "From academic to media capital: To what extent does the scientific reputation of universities translate into Wikipedia attention?," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 75(4), pages 423-437, April.

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