Website evaluation

A professor and librarian provide two differing points of view on the use of Wikipedia in academic research.

Use Wikipedia for some background reading, not as a source for your paper.

Instructors do not consider it a reliable resource therefore you should not use it unless your instructor has told you that is is Okay.

However, you may find links to trustworthy reliable sources in Wikipedia.

Look at the footer (scroll to the bottom) of the articles for citations and links to articles, books, and web sites that the authors of the Wikipedia article have cited and follow them to find resources with more reliable documentation.

Your library subscribes to several trustworthy reference sources that you can easily cite and link to. Here is a small sample:

“Wikipedia is the first place I go when I'm looking for knowledge... or when I want to create some.”
― Stephen Colbert (comedian)

Colbert Vs. Wikipedia
"Wikiality" is the featured word on this Colbert Report segment.

"You see, any user can change any entry, and if enough other users agree with them, it becomes true."
― Stephen Colbert (comedian)

Search all Gale encyclopedias in one search. Note: Articles in these encyclopedias have the symbol for text to speech.