Using Wikipedia as a Source

Wikipedia is available for all the world to see, more importantly, it is available for all the world to change. Wiki's are setup as informational web pages that allows anyone who can access them the power to modify or change their content. Sometimes this is helpful but often it can create misleading information.

The theory is that people can publish information on subjects from first hand knowledge, a collective database of sorts. Someone who has researched a particular idea can share or add what they know to an existing subject on Wikipedia and therefore build on the information. This creates a handy source to gather material on a wide variety of subjects, all in one area. The problem, is that everyone can edit the information and you must trust (sometimes mistakenly) that the information is valid.

Articles such as on the NPR website (Scanner Tracks Who's Changing What on Wikipedia) explain how this can create false statements, or 'bend the truth' to represent what an individual (or organization) wants the public to see. Examples given include large corporations such as Wal-Mart editing content about their stores to look more favorable. Edits to these wiki's leave identifying information that has been gathered together to show proof of these changes.

Because of these problems, wiki sites such as Wikipedia should never be used as a trusted source for citing information on reports or articles, or any item that is written as fact. For the most part, the details are probably fairly accurate but may contain a 'spin' put on them by an interested party. They certainly should not be considered non-biased. They are helpful when used as a starting point - a way to gather information that can be checked out through other respectable means, or as a quick source for a broad understanding. Wikipedia information is not the same as using verified factual encyclopedias, it just sounds similar.