Research On Synergetic Mechanism Of Large-scale Knowledge Production In Online Encyclopedias

With the advent of the Internet era,knowledge production has changed from "vertical" to "horizontal",from "expert" to "mass",and large-scale collaborative knowledge production has stepped onto the historical stage.Online encyclopedias came into being under this background and opened a new era of knowledge production.The mechanism behind online encyclopedias has attracted extensive attention from scholars.Nevertheless,the current research on the synergetic mechanism of knowledge production in online encyclopedias still has some problems and deficiencies,such as insufficient theoretical research,single research perspective,unreasonable research methods and so on.How to break through the limitations of existing research,use effective research methods to analyze the complex dynamic interaction among knowledge production factors of online encyclopedias,and deeply reveal its internal synergetic mechanism has become an urgent and significant research topic.In view of the limitations of existing research,based on the analysis of the basic process,mechanism,elements and structure of knowledge production in online encyclopedias by constructivism theory and activity theory,this thesis constructs two-way construction collaboration model and triangular activity collaboration model respectively,and proposes the corresponding element interaction conceptual model and system dynamics model.This thesis widely uses vector autoregressive(VAR)model,panel vector autoregressive(PVAR)model,coupling model and system dynamics method to explore the complex dynamic interaction among knowledge production elements,and fully reveals the synergetic mechanism of knowledge production in online encyclopedias.In short,this thesis combines theoretical modeling with empirical research to deeply reveals the internal synergetic mechanism of knowledge production in online encyclopedias from a general model to a complete model.It enriches and perfects the theoretical research in this field,and provides reference for research in related fields.The main research work and conclusions are as follows:(1)From the perspective of cognitive interaction,based on Piaget’s constructivism theory,this study expounds the basic process and mechanism of knowledge production in online encyclopedias,introduces the conceptual system of cognitive differences,and constructs a basic collaboration model—two-way construction collaboration model.Taking NBA entry on Baidu Encyclopedia as the research object,on the one hand,the content analysis method and social network analysis method are used to explore the content generation mechanism and user interaction characteristics;on the other hand,the VAR model is used to empirically analyzes the interaction among group size,cognitive differences and information quality.The results show that there are different degrees of cognitive differences in the process of knowledge production in online encyclopedias,which stimulates individual participation,and realizes the two-way collaborative construction of entries’ knowledge and individual cognition through assimilation and accommodation.There is a significant positive interactive relationship between group size and cognitive differences,and moderate cognitive difference has the most prominent impact on group size.There is a negative interaction between group size and information quality.Cognitive differences have a significant positive impact on information quality,and moderate cognitive difference has the most significant impact on information quality.(2)Based on the above research,this study expands the size of entries,uses PVAR model to make further empirical analysis on the proposed interaction conceptual model,and considers the moderating effect of task complexity on the interaction among group size,cognitive differences and information quality,which further clarifies the complex relationships among elements.At the same time,this study uses coupling model to analyze the coupling relationships among knowledge production elements,and explore the collaborative evolution model of encyclopedias’ knowledge system and personal cognitive system,which further enhances the understanding of the synergetic mechanism of online encyclopedias.The results show that task complexity negatively moderates the interaction between cognitive differences and information quality,and between cognitive differences and information quality.The cognitive system and the knowledge system have an obvious coupling relationship,which shows an inverted U-shaped coordinated development model.(3)On the basis of the basic collaboration model,This thesis analyzes the element composition and system structure of knowledge production activities,constructs a complete collaborative model of knowledge production in online encyclopedias—triangular activity collaborative model based on Engestrom’s activity theory framework,and divides the encyclopedia system into four subsystems: sharing,production,cooperation and communication.At the same time,this study uses the system dynamics method to establish a comprehensive system dynamics model,simulates and analyzes the dynamic relationships and behavioral patterns among elements,reveals the internal dynamic mechanism of encyclopedia system,and enriches and develops the existing synergy theory and dynamic model.In addition to the above conclusions,this study also found that the quality of entries has a negative impact on the number of core users,while the impact on the number of ordinary users is not obvious.Cognitive differences have a significant positive impact on the number of discussions,while the number of discussions has no significant impact on cognitive differences.