Don't they know anyone can post anything they want there? Heck, I made a change to an article on that site! My change was correct, but what about people who are not correct? The internet is not the Gospel, people! Is Wikipedia really a credible source?
2006-07-21 15:01:01 · 7 answers · asked by advicemom 4 in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
They cite it because it's free and easy to use. It contains over 1 million articles in English (plus a few million in 100 other languages), so it's very likely you can find what you need there. It also appears high in search engine results, which means a lot of people look there first when they're searching for something.
It's not completely trustworthy, but on average, the articles are very high quality, so for areas where 100% accuracy isn't required, Wikipedia is often the best source.
2006-07-23 06:09:34 · answer #1 · answered by Angela 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Popular topics - especially technology related ones or fairly general topics - get read and edited by many many people continually so corrections are made quickly. You could try altering something to incorrect information and see how long it takes to get corrected. Some people have tried this and depending on the topic (again, technica, factual) some of the content got corrected quickly.
But you're definitely right that one should be careful and skeptical.
2006-07-21 15:07:44 · answer #2 · answered by Ladida 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People who research these things have found Wikipedia is consistently more accurate and informative than the major published encyclopedias, and more importantly, it is edited, corrected and updated both more frequently and more quickly than published books which require years to compile and print.
2006-07-21 15:06:41 · answer #3 · answered by Bender 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, wikipedia is a crediple source. Facts are continually checked and rechecked over in wiki-land.
2006-07-21 15:06:16 · answer #4 · answered by jaded.beth 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wolfmusic hit the nail on the head!! It does seem easier for them to do that. I get info from so many sources because I am a voracious reader. I love it!
2006-07-21 15:10:08 · answer #5 · answered by starveling777 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No it may not be credible.
That is what a Wiki is supposed be. Here is a source below
2006-07-21 15:06:55 · answer #6 · answered by paribest 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is easy and relatively reliable. It gets them the 2 points and they don't have to know anything.
2006-07-21 15:05:06 · answer #7 · answered by wolfmusic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋