Analyzing Wikidata Transclusion on English Wikipedia

TL;DR

This paper investigates the extent of Wikidata transclusion in English Wikipedia, revealing it occurs much less frequently than previously thought and proposing improved tracking methods for better content management.

Contribution

It provides a detailed taxonomy of Wikidata transclusion and offers new insights into its actual prevalence and impact within Wikipedia articles.

Findings

Wikidata transclusion affects only 5% of articles, much lower than earlier estimates of 61%.

Current tracking mechanisms are inadequate for accurate measurement of transclusion.

Recommendations are provided for better metrics and patrolling of Wikidata content.

Abstract

Wikidata is steadily becoming more central to Wikipedia, not just in maintaining interlanguage links, but in automated population of content within the articles themselves. It is not well understood, however, how widespread this transclusion of Wikidata content is within Wikipedia. This work presents a taxonomy of Wikidata transclusion from the perspective of its potential impact on readers and an associated in-depth analysis of Wikidata transclusion within English Wikipedia. It finds that Wikidata transclusion that impacts the content of Wikipedia articles happens at a much lower rate (5%) than previous statistics had suggested (61%). Recommendations are made for how to adjust current tracking mechanisms of Wikidata transclusion to better support metrics and patrollers in their evaluation of Wikidata transclusion.