SI: Understanding Wikipedia

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This tutorial will introduce you to the basics of Wikipedia.

Let's visit Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia is a freely available web site that behaves like an encyclopedia.

Wikipedia comes from the word "Wiki", which means a web site that anyone can edit (add, remove, change, update, revise).

Advantages and Disadvantages of Wikipedia

Advantages

 

1. Wikipedia provides an easy way to start your research.

2. Wikipedia allows anyone to be an editor so you can participate in adding information to the Wikipedia web site.

3. Wikipedia is often current and up to date.

4. Wikipedia pages often contain a reference list at the bottom of the page so you can see where they obtained their information.

Disadvantages

1. Wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone at any time. This means the information may change day to day.

2. Wikipedia pages are written by anonymous authors. This means you cannot cite a Wikipedia page because you don't know their identity.

3. Wikipedia pages can be written by anyone so we don't know their authority (subject expertise).

4. Wikipedia pages are not fact-checked. This means the information may be incorrect.

Conclusion: Wikipedia can be a great place to start your research but always check the references at the bottom of the page. Some instructors may not accept it as a source. Because authors are not identified, it is not considered a credible source for academic research.