Wikipedia: Pros and Cons Christine Kickels College of DuPage Library Associate Professor Librarian and “Wiki-user”

What is Wikipedia? “Wikipedia is an encyclopedia collaboratively written by many of its readers.” --Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia

Why? "Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what we're doing." --Jimmy Wales

Articles you won’t find Definitions Original research News reports Just a collection of links Personal blogs Biographies of any person

But wait! There’s more… Wikinews Wiktionary Wikibooks Wikiversity And others…

Pros Anybody can edit It’s free Updates are quick Use of hyperlinks Size of topic unimportant Opportunity to discuss topic

Cons Anybody can add or edit Vandalism Bias in some areas Lack of traditional editing Incompleteness Writing quality

But aren’t there standards? 1.Create an Encyclopedia 2.Maintain Neutral Point of View (POV) 3.Use Free Content 4.Follow Code of Conduct 5.Respect that there are no firm rules

Who settles debates? Jimmy Wales Founder and Chairman of the Wikimedia Foundation

The Study Giles, Jim. “Internet Encyclopaedias Go Head to Head”. Nature. 15 Dec vs.

The results First peer-reviewed study Nature article concluded that there were few differences in quality of articles

Encyclopedia Britannica’s response Study was flawed!

Tips for using it Remember that it is an encyclopedia Verify with other sources Utilize links View the history Remember the collaborative process Look for bias

Podcasts NPR interviews with Jimmy WalesNPR interviews with Jimmy Wales WGN Radio interview with Stacy SchiffWGN Radio interview with Stacy Schiff Jimmy Wales’ podcasts