Library and Academic Services: Source Evaluation guide: Wikipedia

Introduction

Wikipedia

Wikipedia can be a great place to get basic foundation information to help you understand a topic before going to a database or a journal.

However, if you wish to use it, there are a few things to consider:

First, get permission. Not all instructors will allow Wikipedia as a source because articles are so inconsistent.
Even Wikipedia’s section on academic research states it’s the place to get started and get a general understanding of your topic. Topics will need more details, and that’s where books, ebooks, and peer-reviewed articles at the library can help.
In what capacity are you planning to use the information? Is it background to help develop themes and ideas, or are you looking for core sources for your paper?
The references (source lists) at the bottom of the Wikipedia entry is a great jumping-off spot to find more sources. It also gives a good idea about the quality of the information in the article itself. Using this reference list to find more reliable information is always better than using the wiki article.
Always cite!

How to Evaluate Wikipedia

Not all Wikipedia articles are built equally; some are fantastic, while others are lean and need attention. Careful review and consideration of a Wiki article can go a long way to determining whether it can or should be used.

Look at the Evaluation frameworks for guidance; here are a few questions to get you thinking in the right direction...

How long is the Wiki article? Does it cover the main topic areas?
Does it use references and external sources (and are those sources good?)
Is the information consistent with what you have found in other sources, articles, books, etc.?
When was it last updated?
Are there any warnings or cautions indicating that it might need review by subject experts?

Evaluating Wikipedia Articles (Skyline college)
Some good tips for evaluating a Wikipedia article.

Videos

How to use Wikipedia in your research

Wikipedia can be a useful introductory research resource when used wisely. Learn about the best aspects of Wikipedia as a research resource and the risks inherent in using it in academic research. (UNB Library)

Resources

Using Wikipedia: Crash Course Navigating Digital Information #5
Wikipedia is often maligned by teachers and twitter trolls alike as an unreliable source. And yes, it does sometimes have major errors and omissions, but Wikipedia is also the Internet's largest general reference work and as such an incredibly powerful tool. Today we'll discuss using Wikipedia for good - to help us get a birds-eye view of content...

Wikipedia @ 20: Stories of an Incomplete Revolution by Joseph Reagle; Jackie Koerner, Eds.
Location: eBook
Publication Date: 2020
Wikipedia's first twenty years- how what began as an experiment in collaboration became the world's most popular reference work. We have been looking things up in Wikipedia for twenty years. What began almost by accident--a wiki attached to an nascent online encyclopedia...
Good Faith Collaboration by Joseph M. Reagle; Lawrence Lessig (Foreword by)
Location: eBook
Publication Date: 2010
Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, is built by a community--a community of Wikipedians who are expected to assume good faith when interacting with one another. In Good Faith Collaboration, Joseph Reagle examines this unique collaborative culture...
Common Knowledge?: An Ethnography of Wikipedia by Dariusz Jemielniak
Location: eBook
Publication Date: 2014
With an emphasis on peer-produced content and collaboration, Wikipedia exemplifies a departure from traditional management and organizational models. This iconic "project" has been variously characterized as a hive mind and an information revolution,...

Blikstad-Balas, M. (2016). “You get what you need” : A study of students’ attitudes towards using Wikipedia when doing school assignments. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 60(6), 594–608.
In traditional classrooms, a textbook was often the only source of knowledge available; in stark contrast, today's classrooms have an infinite number of knowledge sources available...
Greenstein, S., & Zhu, F. (2012). Is Wikipedia biased? The American Economic Review, 102(3), 343–348.
This study empirically examines whether Wikipedia has a neutral point of view. It develops a method for measuring the slant of 28 thousand articles about US politics. In its earliest years, Wikipedia's political entries lean Democrat on average...
McDowell, Z. J., & Vetter, M. A. (2020). It takes a village to combat a fake news army: wikipedia’s community and policies for information literacy. Social Media + Society, 6(3).
The fake news crisis points to a complex set of circumstances in which new media ecologies struggle to address challenges related to authenticity, rhetorical manipulation and disinformation, and the inability of traditional educational models to adequately teach...
Calhoun, C. (2014). Using Wikipedia in information literacy instruction: Tips for developing research skills. College & Research Libraries News, 75(1), 32-33.
As an information literacy instructor at Auburn University, it has been a perpetual struggle to teach students how to successfully search for library resources when they come to their one-time library sessions with only a broad paper topic and no idea how to narrow it down...
Ball, C. (2019). WikiLiteracy: Enhancing students’ digital literacy with Wikipedia. Journal of Information Literacy, 13(2), 253-.
In January 2019 the University of Derby delivered its first module entirely dedicated to and structured around editing and writing articles for Wikipedia. The course focused on using Wikipedia as a means to improve students' skills in writing for public consumption...

Provide Feedback

Found a broken link? Want to suggest a resource?

Email the Library's general mailbox or email the guide owner to provide feedback for this Library guide. Guide owner information is on the "Getting Started" page of each guide.

You may also want to...