USING WIKIPEDIA TO MAKE THE DIGITIZED NEWSPAPERS OF THE NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM MORE DISCOVERABLE:

 

Survey for Wikipedia editors using Chronicling America

 

Disclosure and Consent Statement

 

Who We Are

This survey is being conducted by the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project of the University of Maryland Libraries.  The Historic Maryland Newspapers Project was created by a grant from the National Digital Newspaper Project (NDNP), a national program that awards National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants to institutions in each U.S. state and territory to digitize historic newspapers.  Historic state newspapers digitized by NDNP grant recipients are made available to the American public through the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers online digital collection.

 

About This Survey

The Historic Maryland Newspapers Project is conducting a study of how the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America can become a better resource for contributors to Wikipedia.  This survey is part of a larger study that will also evaluate how NDNP grant awardees are using Wikipedia to increase the accessibility of their contributions to Chronicling America.  The results of the study will be made available to the Library of Congress and all NDNP grant awardees to help inform their outreach efforts. The Historic Maryland Newspapers Project and other NDNP grant awardees may implement some of the recommendations in future iterations of their NDNP work.

 

The survey consists of 34 questions, mostly yes-or-no or multiple-choice.  It should take you less than thirty minutes to complete.

 

Potential Risks or Benefits

We do not anticipate any risk to you in participating in this survey.  We do not anticipate any discomfort or embarrassment in answering any of these questions.  However, if you do not feel comfortable answering any of these questions, you may skip the question; or you may quit the survey at any time.

 

There are no direct benefits from participation in this survey. However, we hope that by participating, you might contribute to improving the availability of the information resources that the Library of Congress makes available to the American public.

 

Voluntary Participation

Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary.  You may choose not to take part at all.  If you decide to participate in this survey, you may stop participating at any time.  You can skip any question you do not feel comfortable answering.  You can request that your responses be omitted from the final study at any time after completion of the survey. If you decide not to participate in this survey or if you stop participating at any time, or if you withdraw after completion, you will not be penalized or lose any benefits to which you otherwise qualify.

 

Confidentiality

Your responses will be held in strict confidence on secure data systems.  Any printed material will be kept in locked file cabinets in access-controlled offices.  Survey responses will only be reported confidentially, without identifying survey respondents.

 

We do not ask for any information that might identify you as the respondent in this survey.  However, we are interested in speaking on the telephone or via Skype with a select number of survey respondents.  If you decide to participate in this part of the study, you will be asked for contact information.  The information you provide for the purpose of a follow-up interview will be kept separately from your survey responses.

 

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints about this survey, you can contact Donald Taylor, Wikipedian-in-Residence for the Historic Maryland Newspapers Project, at dwtii@umd.edu, or Elizabeth Caringola, Historic Maryland Newspapers Project Librarian, at ecaringo@umd.edu.

 

You may print a copy or of this consent form. You can request a copy by writing to Donald Taylor at dwtii@umd.edu.

 

Participant Rights

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or wish to report a research-related injury, please contact:

 

University of Maryland College Park

Institutional Review Board Office

1204 Marie Mount Hall

College Park, Maryland, 20742

 E-mail: irb@umd.edu 

Telephone: 301-405-0678

 

This research has been reviewed according to the University of Maryland, College Park IRB procedures for research involving human subjects.

 

Consent
Your response to the following question indicates that you are at least 18 years of age; you have read this consent statement or have had it read to you; your questions have been answered to your satisfaction and you voluntarily agree to participate in this survey.
 
If you agree to participate, please indicate using the following response options. Once you have indicated your consent, the survey will begin.