A produção colaborativa de conteúdos: elementos indicadores da confiabilidade da informação na Wikipédia, a Enciclopédia Livre

Abstract

The last few years have been marked by the large amount of information produced, disseminated and consumed daily. The advent of the web and its technological evolution, in particular, resulted in the emergence of mechanisms aimed at social interaction through online networks, virtual communities and open spaces of interaction. These environments are dedicated to the production, exchange, and dissemination of information and intangible assets fully focused on the processes of collaborative production sharing. In this context, Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, presents itself as one of the most accessed Internet addresses. Throughout its 12years of existence, the collaborative encyclopedia online operates in over 280 countries, being present in five 5 continents, namely Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Its major advantage is the fact that it functions through interactions and collaborations done by its own users. However, due to its free nature, Wikipedia faces the daily challenge of the reliability of information. Thus, in the present research, we aimed to analyze the factors affecting the reliability of information produced and shared on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. To this end, we seek to specifically describe the structure of this encyclopedia, mapping its general and specific characteristics, to identify the elements found as constituting a policy of production and dissemination of information, to characterize the factors affecting the reliability of information produced, and to explain the guidelines that guide the collaborative production of content. Thus, we performed a qualitative research on a documentary base in a case study. The collection and analysis of data were performed on the basis of Content Analysis of Laurence Bardin (2010), through the combination of the techniques of Relations Analysis and Thematic analysis proposed by Minayo (1996). The results show that Wikipedia is composed of a set of features designed to ensure their most unique characteristics, such as the Five Pillars and Wikipedia is not. Moreover, it has policies and recommendations that support the content production. Wikipedia is concerned with content produced by its publishers, especially regarding to quality, with emphasis on the validity and reliability of information that constitute them. In this context, three aspects stand out. The first corresponds to the categories of Content Production, which constitute the most important notes to be known and adopted by its producers. The second aims to achieve reliability, it corresponds to the "positions of trust , enhancing both the quality of articles and entries produced by Wikipedians as the experience of members dedicated to improving articles and entries. The third refers to the "netiquette", which acts indirectly on reliability regards, informing the most appropriate behaviors so that internal personal conflicts do not reach the quality of the pages. The open and collaborative model of encyclopedia therefore brings to Wikipedia a constant concern with the production of reliable and credible content. Its specifics enable itself to add the elements of reliability of information from different informational sources. The biggest challenge is the constant search for new criteria to evaluate the quality of such content.