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I am trying to think of how to make an instructional video that could talk about both the strengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia better then Stephen Colbert, but I am not sure I could be as entertaining.......
Also see:
Wikkilobbying and this interview with the founder of Wikipedia
PRO: Anyone can contribute information! Anyone can edit it!
CON: Anyone can contribute information! Anyone can edit it!
You may have seen "The free online resource Wikipedia is about as accurate on science as the Encyclopedia Britannica, a study shows." Keep in mind, that is ON AVERAGE. At any moment, Stephen Colbert could have called on the Colbert Nation to edit the entry that you are looking at! Perhaps someone who does not like a certain figure has chose to edit the entry to reflect their opinion, rather then verifiable facts. Maybe someone from a company's PR department is editing that company's entry.
ALWAYS CHECK FOR CITATIONS.
It CAN be useful; for example, look at this entry on Census. When you scroll to the bottom, you can see that it is CITED, so you can go look at the articles and government websites that have further information on this topic.
Remember, you might start your research with Wikipedia but you can't end it there! When all is said and done, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and you should not base an entire college research paper on one encyclopedia entry.
ETA:Colbert's Best Wikipedia Moments
Saturday, February 14, 2009
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