Why wikipedia is bad

Du says those references are exactly why Wikipedia is a great place to begin your research. You can examine the cited sources and analyze them individually. You will see warnings if something is weak in its evidence. Arcus and Andersen say this can be a great way of training yourself to become media literate, since you have to determine which of those cited sources is legitimate, false, or biased.

Read more: How comics can teach media literacy and help identify fake news. Wikipedia has more than 41 million registered contributors , all of which are anonymous volunteers. But, like Encyclopedia Britannica, it is the first stop for most search inquiries.

Wikipedia also says it covers fewer women-related issues and biographies because of a gender gap — 90 per cent of its contributors are male. Therefore, Wikipedia should not be considered a definitive source in and of itself. In this case, you should rely on—and cite—Wikipedia. Use your judgment. Remember that all sources have to be evaluated. Increasingly Wikipedia information will be referenced with academic references.

Hopefully when you see a fact in Wikipedia you will be able to quickly verify it with an online, academic source, which you can cite instead of Wikipedia. Connors State College is not liable for the information stated above. This can be avoided by following two simple rules: Do your research assignment properly. Remember that any encyclopedia is a starting point for research, not an ending point.

So you click on the site. Your topic seems to be explained exhaustively in this online encyclopedia. The Wikipedia article includes links and references. What could be better? Then you remember that you cannot use it as a source. Why not? Ever since Wikipedia debuted on the Internet, it has proved to be a wealth of information for anyone who is searching for answers.

Make sure to always check the references section at the bottom of the article. It links to the various sources used when the article was put together. These sources can be useful for your own research and can also inform you of the reliability of the article on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is not a reliable source because it allows multiple users to edit, and it is not safe to assume that the facts presented there have been checked before publishing them.

Wikipedia's policies say that references of the content should be included whenever possible, but the quality of these references is questionable. Anyone can edit any Wikipedia page, they can include whatever information they feel to be true, or they can simply add wrong sources.

Wiki sites are not credible sources.