please help, i need this for my term paper, thanks
2007-01-20 17:54:18 · 8 answers · asked by suicidal_warmonger08 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Homework Help
Helpful? Yes, it definitely can be helpful. For it to be helpful though, you need to use it as a tool to find outside links and resources. Many of the links shared on Wikipedia are extremely informative, but you will never know for certain if the information contained on the Wikipedia page will be factual or not. Wikipedia is known as the "public's" encyclopedia, and it's constructed by the public. So, if you get someone in the public who constructs a page on let's say George Bush, that person may very well be misinformed about some of the facts. Many intelligent students fail crucial assignments by preparing papers based on Wikipedia information. One class in which I recently graded papers for a teacher, the final exam consisted of writing an essay on the differences between two famous composers. Out of 26 papers turned in, at least half of them cited Wikipedia as source information, and out of that half, all but two of them failed their final exam for including incorrect birthdates, birth places, colleges attended, middle names, and so forth. So, BEWARE!
2007-01-20 18:05:55 · answer #1 · answered by Madre 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel that Wikipedia is very useful for youth or anybody else when it comes to mainstream information or basic facts on various subjects. However, often times it is not acceptable for academic papers that require primary sources of data. Some teachers have started banning the use of Wikipedia in citations (I had a teacher do this last semester for a research paper).
2007-01-20 18:04:07 · answer #2 · answered by Adam C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's helpful to anyone, to a certain extent. If you want to check information that doesn't HAVE to be absolutely true, then that's great. However, if you mean useful as far as homework and things go...I don't think so. I'm a "youth of today" and I refuse to use wikipedia for any school paper because of its risk of unreliability. Wikipedia is a source that nearly anyone, as I've heard, can alter...so why trust it for important research papers?
2007-01-20 18:32:41 · answer #3 · answered by badactorsxplaytragic 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course. But then it is on you, what u choose from it. any material is helpful if you make the best use of it. Besides with the free ready made material on the net, how about extending it further with your own creative thoughts? dig into the subject as you would in a gossip! other search engines are good to. Check out, pink monkey, backbenchers, sparks note and surf our very own go ogle too. Hope it works. Besides there are certain brochures that have in them the list of various sites. they are available on net too. bye for now. Tc.
2007-01-20 18:08:44 · answer #4 · answered by Sim 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wikipedia contains unreliable information.
I recommend Encyclopedia Britannica.
2007-01-20 17:58:01 · answer #5 · answered by sheetal501 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think the Wikipedia is a great thing! So many resources to find and really easily.
2007-01-20 18:01:43 · answer #6 · answered by Deedlit79 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes because it helps us with our homework and it helps us find definitions and to understand topics we are interested in.
2007-01-20 17:57:59 · answer #7 · answered by Allie 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes, i believe it is because it is mostly true and reliable .
2007-01-20 18:01:28 · answer #8 · answered by Whiz 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋