The reliability of Wikipedia, and its appropriateness as a research tool, is a question that the online encyclopedia itself seeks to cover in a balanced fashion. Wikipedia was created in the belief that the sum of human knowledge can best be collected by allow every human to contribute to it, which leaves it subject to vandalism and inaccuracies. Research papers have been published supporting and decrying Wikipedia's accuracy, even as a number of universities and online magazines ban it as a source. The Wikipedia community agrees that it is not an appropriate academic source, but not for the same reasons.
Study of Reliability for Nature Magazine
In a 2005 study published in Nature, researchers compared articles from Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia Britannica for errors. In the forty-two articles compared, four from each source had serious errors. In addition, hundreds of minor errors were identified in the Wikipedia entries. Britannica refuted the study, claiming that the research methods were flawed. They additionally emphasized that Britannica's articles are vetted and fact-checked by trained editors. This editorial review makes traditional encyclopedias more stable, but less able to adapt to new circumstances, than Wikipedia.
Professional and Academic Views of Wikipedia
To understand the relationship of scholars to Wikipedia, it is important to understand the different types of sources that can be used in academic research. There are three types of sources, called primary, secondary, and tertiary.
- Primary sources are the original information on a subject. This would include works such as a journal written by Meriweather Lewis while undertaking his famous expedition with William Clark. They are good for researching a subject, but they tend to be too close to be free of bias.
- Secondary sources are a step back from the topic, like Bernard Devoto's book The Journals of Lewis and Clark (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1953). The author is able to dispassionately evaluate the information, and draw conclusions based upon it.
- Tertiary sources summarize and report on the contents of primary and secondary sources. This can be in the form of a bibliography of books on Lewis and Clark, a library catalog, encyclopedia entries on the expedition, or similar compilations of information. Tertiary sources do not attempt to synthesize information in the way that secondary sources do.
Because of its prominence in search engine results, Wikipedia is frequently the first stop for researchers at all academic levels. Because its reliability is sometimes in doubt, a number of colleges have specifically banned the use of Wikipedia as a reference source. Similarly, online publications and news organizations discourage using the contents of Wikipedia entries to develop articles.
An additional concern about citing Wikipedia is that the information is subject to change at any time. Unlike a paper-based encyclopedia or academic journal, the exact contents of the Wikipedia article on the Lewis and Clark expedition may be very different a few weeks later.
Wikipedia Response to the Question of Citing Wikipedia
In its article on the academic use of Wikipedia, the community writes: “Do your research properly. Remember that any encyclopedia is a starting point for research, not an ending point.” This makes a great deal of sense in a broader academic context; one would not cite a library card catalog as a source, and one should not cite an encyclopedia either.
To address the concerns about the changing nature of its pages, Wikipedia has developed a citation tool that links to the exact URL (web address) of the version of the article cited. Every change in Wikipedia is carefully logged, and it is possible to review almost all of the past versions of any page. This technology is the basis for the ability of Wikipedia editors to quickly revert vandalism, and it also makes it possible to cite Wikipedia on the rare occasion when it makes sense to do so.
For more information about Wikipedia:
- Neutrality in Wikipedia for Business Writers discusses why sales and promotional writing is not the way to get a company listed
- Featured Articles on Wikipedia highlights the best information Wikipedia has to offer
- Business Notability in Wikipedia explains the notability criterion, and how a business can determine if it's notable enough to warrant Wikipedia coverage
Terence P Ward - Terence P Ward has a business writing website, but spends a bit too much time writing press releases, blog posts, and thought leadership ...
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