Wikipedia good source for research?

College Life
1

<p>Is Wikipedia a good credible source for research?</p>

2

<p>Nooo! Most professors won't accept Wikipedia as an authentic citation; it is useful, however, for pointing you in the right direction in terms of books et al.,</p>

3

<p>it's great. it's good to use as your only source.</p>

4

<p>You acn check the wiki bibliographies for credible sources, but that's it.</p>

5

<p>Wikipedia, like textbooks, is a good first source. Use it to gain some basic knowledge about the subject and then start checking primary sources based on what you decided to look into.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]

it's great. it's good to use as your only source.

[/quote]

I gather that was ironic.</p>

7

<p>I think Wikipedia is a good source for general background information, but I would not recommend it for any real research.</p>

8

<p>Anyone read this?
<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/15/wikipedia.ap/index.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/15/wikipedia.ap/index.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Journal: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica

[/quote]
</p>

9

<p>Yes, but print encyclopedias are also only first sources not to be cited in real research.</p>

10

<p>It gives you a very good starting point with tons of outward links opn which you can base the rest of your research. On many topics, it summarizes the history quite accurately. In all, a very good starting point.</p>

<p>:)</p>

11

<p>I think it could be generally agreed by most people that Wikipedia (and all encyclopedias) are a good place to start. But they seldom go into enough depth to base research on.</p>

12

<p>people can put faulty information on it. eg, I can create or edit articles. Therefore, no, it's not a good source- especially for college students- you can do much better.</p>

13

<p>I use it when I need a subject broken down and summarized, so I can keep focussed on the topic.</p>

14

<p>rephrase- use it general information but do not include in citation.</p>

15

<p>You shouldn't be using an encyclopedia for research, anyway. I mean, it's not a source! Use books, journals, and articles. If you have no idea what your topic is about, you can start by reading a short entry on it. But it is definitely not research material.</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
I think it could be generally agreed by most people that Wikipedia (and all encyclopedias) are a good place to start. But they seldom go into enough depth to base research on.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They also aren't peer-reviewed.</p>

17

<p>beck: What are you referring to with "they"? The entire foundation of Wikipedia is based on its being peer-reviewed. Print-based encyclopedias are always edited, as well...</p>

18

<p>I meant peer-review as it is done with scientific journals: papers are read and investigated by peer experts in the field prior to publication. Although recent events have called the success of this practice into question, generally it works well.</p>

19

<p>peer reviewed means that experts review articles and such before they are published, not that random joe on the internet can can change your entry by putting in his own opinion</p>

20

<p>When you ask is Wikipedia a good source for research, do you mean for something like writing a 10-page paper for a class? Or do you mean conducting a semester-long research project that you'll be presenting at a symposium?</p>