Wikipedia

I was very interested to read the two articles about Wikipedia.  Wikipedia is something that I have understood to be useful to gain general information, but not an appropriate source for academic research; an ever changing, anyone can edit body of information.

Some new/interesting things I learned about Wikipedia:

• articles should be notable and verifiable
• available in 200 languages
• no original research
• only registered users can submit articles; anyone can register
• all changes are linked to user name or IP address; all changes tracked
• self-cleaning; someone will find errors and fix them
• anyone can participate, but it is a small core of people who actually do
•  community standards rule; no bias
• can block IP addresses if inappropriate additions
• "new pages patrol" keeps an eye on new pages and activity
• pages may be locked so no one can edit or put on 10 minute time delay
• experts sometimes shut out; feel they need to defend themselves & disrespected

My thoughts about Wikipedia have not really changed from reading this article.  I still believe Wikipedia is a useful tool to get a quick idea of a subject, however not a good source for school research, particularly at the elementary school level. Berinstein (2006) states "users who rely on Wikipedia as a sole source are playing roulette, even if they check and recheck entries."  Wikipedia representatives have in fact said "Wikipedia is the ideal place to start your research and get a global picture of a topic, we recommend that students check the facts they find in Wikipedia against other sources." (Harris, 2007)  I think we need to tell students about Wikipedia and let them understand how it is created and why it may not always be correct.  Yes, we can get an idea of the topic from this source, but not rely on Wikipedia to give us the final word.  This points out the importance of using multiple sources when conducting research.  In my experience of working with elementary students, I do not feel they should be using Wikipedia as an actual reference in a research project - I do not think they have enough critical thinking skills and background knowledge to assess this information platform.

I think the three basic rules regarding research as presented by Harris (2007) are a perfect summary to research rules and Wikipedia.
    1) At least three sources are required to verify research.
    2) General encyclopedias like Wikipedia are a great place to get started, however...
    3) Serious research projects cannot cite general knowledge encyclopedias.


Berinstein, P. (2006). Wikipedia and Britannica: The Kid's All Right (And So's the Old Man) Searcher 14(3), 16-26.

Harris, C. (2007). Can we make peace with Wikipedia? School Library Journal, 53(6), 26.