Is Wikipedia a reliable source of information? The crows respond
Abstract
Despite its popularity, citing Wikipedia in an academic paper is a practice generally not accepted by teachers and researchers. The main reason argued in this regard is also the distinctive feature of Wikipedia: being a free encyclopedia where anyone, regardless of their level of scholarship, can write content. In the first instance, this quality would mean that its contents are inferior in quality and reliability regarding traditional encyclopedias, which have the support of an expert editorial team. Problems such as amateur editors, content volatility, and vandalism are argued as factors that discredit Wikipedia's reliability. In this paper, the phenomenon of the “wisdom of crowds” is discussed as the foundation of Wikipedia’s reliability, which, together with its epistemological characteristics, positions it as a source of knowledge worthy of being consulted by students and teachers.
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References
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