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How to Use Wikipedia and Get Away With
ItMandi Goodsett, Reference Librarian
Adapted from presentation by Kathy Fester, Shelton School & Evaluation Center, Dallas, TX.
Plan• Premise and purpose of Wikipedia• Strengths and limitations of Wikipedia• When to use Wikipedia• Evaluating Wikipedia articles• Practice
What is Wikipedia?
What is Wikipedia?
A multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?
Who can make changes to Wikipedia articles?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?Who can make changes to Wikipedia
articles?
Anyone in the world with access to the Internet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?Who can make changes to Wikipedia
articles?
Anyone in the world with access to the Internet
How many active contributors were there as of Feb. 2012?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?Who can make changes to Wikipedia
articles?
Anyone in the world with access to the Internet
How many active contributors were there as of Feb. 2012?
77,000http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?
How many unique viewers of Wikipedia were there as of 2012?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?How many unique viewers of Wikipedia
were there as of 2012?
470 million
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?How many articles were there in
Wikipedia as of 2012?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?How many articles were there in
Wikipedia as of 2012?
30 million articles in more than 285 languages
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?How much of Wikipedia is paid for
by advertising?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
What is Wikipedia?How much of Wikipedia is paid for
by advertising?
None. No advertising—all donations & grants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About
Strengths and Weaknesses of
Wikipedia
Strengths of Wikipedia• Up-to-the minute coverage
• Convenient access
• Self-correcting
• Commitment to neutrality
Strengths of Wikipedia• Can ask author questions
• Source of obscure information
• Hyperlinked information (not linear)
• Many non-Western writers
Strengths of Wikipedia
Only source like it in existence:
neutral, objective, encyclopedic coverage of popular culture
Weaknesses of Wikipedia
• Could be in the middle of a rewrite
• Could have false information that hasn’t been removed yet
• Subtle vandalism
Weaknesses of Wikipedia
• Lack of reliability
• Attempts to put a spin on articles
• Edit “wars”
Using Wikipedia for Research
When to use Wikipedia#1) Topic Development
#2) Source of Keywords
#3) References to Outside Sources
When to use Wikipedia#1) Topic Development
#2) Source of Keywords
#3) References to Outside Sources
When to use Wikipedia#1) Topic Development
#2) Source of Keywords
#3) References to Outside Sources
Practice1) Choose a topic and find the Wikipedia article for
it.2) On your notecard list:
1) Some sub-topics2) 2-3 helpful keywords3) 1-2 solid references
3) Make sure your name and topic are listed on the notecard and pass it in
4) Was this activity successful for you? Would you find this useful when doing academic research?
Evaluating Wikipedia Articles
When you decide the use of a Wikipedia article is appropriate, how do you know if the article you find is
credible?
Example: Museum of Bad Art Article
Evaluating the Articles#1) Talk Tab
o Rating?o Questions raised about article?
Featured article
Featured Articles• Featured Article = well-written,
balanced, neutral, encyclopedic, and backed up by comprehensive, notable, and verified knowledge
• Good Article = solid, fairly reliable article
Evaluating the Articles#2) View History Tab
o When created? When last edited?o How many contributors?o Evidence of vandalism? (constant changes)
Revised over 500 times!
Check for recent revisions
Evaluating the Articles#3) References, Notes, See also
o Well-cited?o Good sources? (print and online?)
Great stepping stone to more reliable sources
Evaluating the Articles#3) References, Notes, See also
o Well-cited?o Good sources? (print and online?)
Check these sources and evaluate
Non-Wikipedia Online Sources
Evaluating the Articles#4) Quality
o Well-written and organized?
Well-organize
d?
Your Turn• Choose a keyword from the next slide
and look it up in Wikipedia• Answer the questions on the handout• We’ll share what we found as a group
Choose from this list:• Sandy Koufax• Tourette syndrome• Mosque• Orion• Sam Houston• Frank Lloyd Wright• Fighting in ice hockey• Coldplay• Final Fantasy• MC Escher
• Golem• Elvis Presley• General Relativity• Tropical cyclone• Do the right thing (film)• 2005 Texas Longhorns
football
Remember: Discussion, Notes, References!
Questions?libref@gsw.edu
See the accompanying library guide here: http://libguides.gsw.edu/wikipedia
References• Bayliss, Gemma1, g.bayliss@uea.ac.uk. "Exploring The Cautionary Attitude
Toward Wikipedia In Higher Education: Implications For Higher Education Institutions." New Review Of Academic Librarianship 19.1 (2013): 36-57. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
• Calhoun, Cate. "Using Wikipedia in Information Literacy Instruction." College & Research Libraries News 75.1 (2014): 32-33. College & Research Libraries News. Association of College and Research Libraries, Jan. 2014. Web. Feb. 2014.
• Fester, Kathy. "Wikipedia-Wise." LibrarymindsActII. Wikispaces, 1 Oct. 2009. Web. Oct. 2013.
• Gray, Andrew1. "Wikipedia And Information Literacy." School Librarian 61.1 (2013): 8-10. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
• Polkinghorne, Sarah, and Cameron Hoffman. "Crown Jewel Or Pure Evil? Wikipedia Through An Information Literacy Lens." Feliciter 55.3 (2009): 101-103. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
• Rand, Angela Doucet. "Mediating At The Student-Wikipedia Intersection." Journal Of Library Administration 50.7/8 (2010): 923-932. Library & Information Science Source. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.
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