On Understanding Practitioners' Motivation for Participating on Stack Overflow – Replication Package

This dataset supports the study “Motivations for Participation on Stack Overflow Across Cultures”. It explores why software practitioners contribute to Stack Overflow, comparing motivations across the United States, China, and Russia. Using a mixed-methods approach, we analysed 600 “About Me” profiles and linguistic data from 268,215 contributors. Seventeen motivational categories were identified, including advertising, altruism, and learning. Results show cultural differences: American users favour self-promotion, Chinese users emphasise learning, and Russian users display mixed tendencies. Correlation analysis revealed that detailed self-profiles align with advertising and social engagement, while learning-oriented users provide minimal self-presentation. The dataset offers a replication package for further study of cultural variation in knowledge-sharing communities.