1 Wikipedia
1.1 What's Wrong with Wikipedia?
From the Harvard Guide To Using Sources
There's nothing more convenient than Wikipedia if you're looking for some quick information, and when the stakes are low (you need a piece of information to settle a bet with your roommate, or you want to get a basic sense of what something means before starting more in-depth research), you may get what you need from Wikipedia. In fact, some instructors may advise their students to read entries for scientific concepts on Wikipedia as a way to begin understanding those concepts.
Nevertheless, when you're doing academic research, you should be extremely cautious about using Wikipedia. As its own disclaimer states, information on Wikipedia is contributed by anyone who wants to post material, and the expertise of the posters is not taken into consideration. Users may be reading information that is outdated or that has been posted by someone who is not an expert in the field or by someone who wishes to provide misinformation.
Case in point: Four years ago, an Expos student who was writing a paper about the limitations of Wikipedia posted a fictional entry for himself, stating that he was the mayor of a small town in China. Four years later, if you type in his name, or if you do a subject search on Wikipedia for mayors of towns in China, you will still find this fictional entry.
Some information on Wikipedia may well be accurate, but because experts do not review the site's entries, there is a considerable risk in relying on this source for your essays.
Case in point: Four years ago, an Expos student who was writing a paper about the limitations of Wikipedia posted a fictional entry for himself, stating that he was the mayor of a small town in China. Four years later, if you type in his name, or if you do a subject search on Wikipedia for mayors of towns in China, you will still find this fictional entry.
Some information on Wikipedia may well be accurate, but because experts do not review the site's entries, there is a considerable risk in relying on this source for your essays.
1.2 Wikipedia's Disclaimer
WIKIPEDIA MAKES NO GUARANTEE OF VALIDITY
Wikipedia is an online open-content collaborative encyclopedia; that is, a voluntary association of individuals and groups working to develop a common resource of human knowledge. The structure of the project allows anyone with an Internet connection to alter its content. Please be advised that nothing found here has necessarily been reviewed by people with the expertise required to provide you with complete, accurate or reliable information.
That is not to say that you will not find valuable and accurate information in Wikipedia; much of the time you will. However, Wikipedia cannot guarantee the validity of the information found here. The content of any given article may recently have been changed, vandalized or altered by someone whose opinion does not correspond with the state of knowledge in the relevant fields. Note that most other encyclopedias and reference works also have disclaimers.
No formal peer review
Our active community of editors uses tools such as the Special:Recentchanges and Special:Newpages feeds to monitor new and changing content. However, Wikipedia is not uniformly peer reviewed; while readers may correct errors or engage in casual peer review, they have no legal duty to do so and thus all information read here is without any implied warranty of fitness for any purpose or use whatsoever. Even articles that have been vetted by informal peer review or featured article processes may later have been edited inappropriately, just before you view them.
Especially avoid pages that say this
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There are some guidelines on using Google for research purposes here. But more important is how to evaluate the content that you've found...
How do you tell when information you find on the internet is reliable? Advice is provided to help you evaluate web content and decide if it's suitable for your research and study purposes. Before using information you find on the internet for assignments and research, it is important to judge its accuracy and to establish that the information comes from a reliable and appropriate source.
Consider the following criteria and ask yourself the following questions:
Consider the following criteria and ask yourself the following questions:
1 Audience
- Who is the website’s intended audience? Academics? The general public? School children?
- Does it appropriately address the target audience?
- Is it relevant for your assignment or research?
2 Authority of the Author
- Is the author identified? If the author has chosen to remain anonymous, ask yourself 'why?'
- Is the author a person you recognise as an expert in his field?
- If not, is there enough information provided to establish the author’s credibility?
- Is she qualified to write about the subject?
- Can you find references to her elsewhere?
- Is the author affiliated to an academic institution or credible organisation?
3 Authority of the Publication
- Is the name of the publication obvious?
- Are contact details and ‘about’ information provided?
- Do you recognise the name of the publisher?
- Does it look like a professional publication?
- Is there associated branding?
- Is the publication referenced elsewhere?
4 Accuracy
- Is it free from spelling errors?
- Is the text well-written and grammatically correct?
- Has the content been through an editing process or been peer reviewed?
- Has the author included a bibliography?
- Are the sources cited reliable and can they be verified elsewhere?
- Are research methodologies adequately explained?
5 Objectivity
- Does the author present objective arguments or make it clear when he is expressing biased opinions?
- Are other points of view explored?
- Is it a personal website? Does it express personal opinions?
- Is the website part of a commercial organisation, a political party or an organisation with a specific agenda? If yes, question the motives for publishing the information.
- Does the website promote a biased viewpoint?
6 Currency
- Can you tell when the information was published?
- Is the information up to date?
- How frequently is the website updated?
- Are the links up to date and working?
7 The URL
Look at the URL (web address) of the website. The domain name can help you establish if the information has been published by a credible source.
For example:
For example:
| Domain | Published by |
|---|---|
| .ac.uk | a UK university |
| .edu | an American university |
| .gov.uk or scotland.gov.uk | the UK or Scottish government |
| .nhs.uk or .scot.nhs.uk | the NHS or the NHS in Scotland |
You still need to apply the same criteria mentioned above to establish reliability, and don’t forget to check the information is up to date.
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