Wikipedia Collaborators and Their Roles

A paper written by a University of Arizona professor and a graduate student found that quality Wikipedia articles are the result of the work of different kinds of collaborators.

Starters, for example, create sentences but seldom engage in other actions. Content justifiers create sentences and justify them with resources and links. Copy editors contribute primarily though modifying existing sentences. Some users – the all-round contributors – perform many different functions.

So basically, really good Wikipedia articles come about by embracing the core tenet of the project: many people working together provide better information.

The paper is also available for download.