What about Wikipedia

What is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia--"the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit."

If you do any online searching for information you have probably come across a link to an article in Wikipedia. With its more than 1.4 million articles in the English language version, Wikipedia is coming up frequently in Google searches.

What Wikipedia says about itself.

Anyone can edit Wikipedia?

Absolutely anyone can write for Wikipedia. Sometimes experts write or edit the articles, more often it is anyone who has an interest in the subject. The author may or may not have accurate information. Others come behind the original author and put in their two cents. You could too, if you wanted to do so.

According to a recent article in Nature, Wikipedia measured up fairly well with Encyclopedia Britannica on the science related topics the authors examined. But Wikipedia itself has a disclaimer which states you need to verify the information you find in it with other sources. So, why not save yourself some time, and look in an "official" encyclopedia to start with?

Since anyone can create or edit an article in Wikipedia you never know what you are going to get. The Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert takes a humourous look at the online encyclopedia. He coined "Wikiality" on the July 26, 2006 program, saying "Together we can create a reality we can all agree on" (see an article).

Is it okay to use Wikipedia when I am researching?

YES: To learn about an unknown topic before searching the library catalog and databases

If you just need to situate yourself in the appropriate subject area, Wikipedia might be an OK place to begin. For example, you might start with Wikipedia if you don't know where in the library to begin looking for information on "Hammurabi's Code." Once you find out it is a set of laws from the ancient world, you can determine where to go to get more reliable information on the subject. An encyclopedia written by known experts in their fields will provide much better background information than Wikipedia.

If you were doing some sort of research about Wikipedia itself, the social communities it represents, the phenomena of online cooperative work, or some other topic, THEN it makes perfect sense to use Wikipedia.

NO: To use as a research source for your work at UW Tacoma, or for any college-level work.

Many professors discourage use of general encyclopedias in favor of more in-depth research found in books and articles .

Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia's founder, recommends against using it for college-level work.

Speaking at a conference at the University of Pennsylvania called “The Hyperlinked Society,” Mr. Wales said that he gets about 10 e-mail messages a week from students who complain that Wikipedia has gotten them into academic hot water. “They say, ‘Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia'” and the information turned out to be wrong, he says. But he said he has no sympathy for their plight, noting that he thinks to himself: “For God sake, you're in college; don't cite the encyclopedia.”

"Wikipedia Founder Discourages Academic Use of His Creation." The Chronicle of Higher Education: Wired Campus Blog. 12 June 2006. 31 Jan. 2007. http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/1328/wikipedia-founder-discourages-academic-use-of-his-creation

 

How to Cite Wikipedia

Ask any UW Tacoma librarian how to cite Wikipedia and you'll very likely be asked, "What are you using it for?" That's because they want you to have the best information, and to warn you about potential repercussions when your instructor looks at your list of references.

Further Information

Still have questions? Contact the UW Tacoma Library Reference Desk.