Archive for the ‘Wikipedia’ Category
Wikipedia: Credible?
Wikipedia is a source that anyone at anytime can alter. My journalism students think this is a reliable source until I tell them otherwise. I feel as if Wikipedia is great for common knowledge, but I soon try to find more information to back up everything AND one should NEVER use Wikipedia as a resource for ANY TYPE of research unless one is doing a scholarly research project about Wikipedia.
Here’s the latest on NYTimes.com:
Still, Wikipedia, which dwarfs traditional encyclopedias in scope, faces the potential for inaccuracy - or abuse. Anyone can edit any entry at any time. The entries for George Bush and John Kerry had to be frozen during last year’s election because of constant vandalism. There are dozens of accounts of people editing entries to suit their own business or personal interests, or their biases.
But Wikipedia’s weakness is also its greatest strength. With thousands of editors, most of them interested in accuracy, errors and vandalism are usually cleaned up quickly. And entries are living organisms, constantly updated. Within hours of his death, the entry for the actor John Spencer carried the news.
