Is Wikipedia a Reliable Information Source?

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Is Wikipedia a Reliable Information Source?
Tweet Topic Started: Mar 3 2007, 07:10 AM (1,930 Views)
Epsilonite	Mar 3 2007, 07:10 AM Post #1
Title Pending Posts: 362 Group: Member Member #1,665 Joined: August 27, 2006	After all the innumerable side-bashing in many debates on Wikipedia being used as a source to back up a person's arguments, I've thought about it and questioned its reliability to the point of creating this topic. What's your take on Wikipedia? Is it a reliable source due to it having enough information to write a million page book, or the fact that it can be edited and vandalized by anyone pulls you into the opposing side? IMO, Wikipedia is a reliable, but an average information source due to the fact that it is a secondary (and sometimes biased) source and how vulnerable it is to misinformation and vandalism.



SSJ3_Iain	Mar 3 2007, 10:12 AM Post #2
Posts: 1,159 Group: Member Member #1,945 Joined: November 29, 2006	It depends on your views regarding information. Most of it is pretty accurate from a factual standpoint, since citation is needed. Yet since it is being written by members of the general public (usually on subjects that interest them), no matter how much they are forced to alter their articles, they are going to remain biased in some way. Also very very very little of the information is 1st hand. All the information has been taken from other sources, meaning its usually 3rd hand information, which has been altered and edited so many times it hardly resembles the original article. Im a university student, and we have been told to NEVER use wikipedia for research. Ultimately, any idiot can post on wikipedia....and although citation is needed, some articles do slip through the net. Its a gamble, as it may well turn out to be nonsense.
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* .Revolution	Mar 3 2007, 11:05 AM Post #3
.: Changing Everything :. Posts: 4,632 Group: Retired Staff Member #615 Joined: August 15, 2005 Favourite Anime Dragonball/Z/GT What Browser do you use? Mozilla Firefox 3 Favourite Manga Dragonball	Wikipedia has some articles written by professional authors and people who really do reasearches on what they are writing about. But most of the entries are made by people like you and me, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it offers alot of potential for mistakes. I can't tell how many mistakes there are in the Wikipedia database, all the information I used from Wikipedia was reliable. But I think it would not hurt to search using google after using Wikipedia, maybe you can avoid mistakes if you do so.
	Bow down Surrender unto me Submit infectiously Sanctify your demons Click to visit my DeviatART


Meowth	Mar 3 2007, 01:59 PM Post #4
=._.= Posts: 130,670 Group: Princess Member #23 Joined: November 22, 2004 Gender Female Country United Kingdom Favourite Anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya What Browser do you use? FireFox Favourite Manga Fruits Basket	Wikipedia is usually a good source of information unless the article has a dispute mark on it, then it might be best not to use that article to back somthing up. Articles that are biased are generaly marked for clean up :S



Refresh	Mar 3 2007, 09:16 PM Post #5
SrlY Posts: 742 Group: Member Member #1,975 Joined: December 8, 2006	I dont believe wikipedia is a reliable information soruce at all. To my knowledge and expereince wikipedia is just another false source of information that has no real proof to its reliablity. Ya oviously it has some correct information but so does every other website but it doenst make it all good. I have gone to a wikipedia page trying to get information about an essay and then finding this information and not finding mark for clean up, so i used it and then days later my teacher told me my information was false, that single event has put me off wikipedia for mostly every source except for pictures.



Kero Engi	Mar 3 2007, 09:57 PM Post #6
Fear Me Dear, For I'am Death Posts: 5,422 Group: Member Member #448 Joined: May 8, 2005 Favourite Anime Naruto What Browser do you use? Explorer Favourite Manga HighSchool Of The Dead	I use it alot, i find it very usefull, i learnt alot about Akatsuki on there.
	My Vampirefreaks account My Myspace Account If You Could Live For Ever, What Would You Do?


+ Green	Mar 4 2007, 03:11 PM Post #7
Flashy Thing! Posts: 5,436 Group: Legend Member #1,181 Joined: February 25, 2006 Gender Male Country United States What Browser do you use? Fire fox Favourite Manga Gantz	i use it a lot too but my english teacher hates it and won't let us use it for our projects(i wouldn't any way, i don't trust it that much)
	Don't you ever worry that you're on the Devil's side without even knowing it? - DCI John Luther Black power ranger; I do not belong... B.o.B - Mr. Mister


Rania	Mar 4 2007, 05:02 PM Post #8
Goku and Vegeta like to Dance <3 Posts: 393 Group: Member Member #1,552 Joined: July 11, 2006	Hah hah, wikipedia. Havent you ever watched the Colbert Report?
	FanFics: {"Breaking The Sky"} {"Bulma's Problem"} Its the dance that makes the man! haha! -Rania Briefs


Refresh	Mar 4 2007, 08:44 PM Post #9
SrlY Posts: 742 Group: Member Member #1,975 Joined: December 8, 2006	no, explain to us what it is



Meowth	Mar 4 2007, 08:52 PM Post #10
=._.= Posts: 130,670 Group: Princess Member #23 Joined: November 22, 2004 Gender Female Country United Kingdom Favourite Anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya What Browser do you use? FireFox Favourite Manga Fruits Basket	green_480 Mar 4 2007, 04:11 PM i use it a lot too but my english teacher hates it and won't let us use it for our projects(i wouldn't any way, i don't trust it that much) Huh? What a weird teacher. For my A Level course it's a common reference. Quote: I dont believe wikipedia is a reliable information soruce at all. To my knowledge and expereince wikipedia is just another false source of information that has no real proof to its reliablity. http://coxwrong.ytmnd.com/ Anyway, onto saying why you are wrong there. Some might be poor atricles, always proof read them before using them, a dodgy article with read poor and will probably make little sense. Also check to see if the person has cited there sources, if an article hasn't cited anything, don't use it, simple as that. After all, the person/people who write the articles get there information from other places, they use that knowladge to put it all into one article.



Refresh	Mar 5 2007, 12:08 AM Post #11
SrlY Posts: 742 Group: Member Member #1,975 Joined: December 8, 2006	wow BBQ i thought your link would acually be able to prove your point but again its a random pointless link, ya exactly but many kids these days just go to wikipedia and copy paste&copy paste because they have complete faith in it, i think wikipedia should put up some kind of warning thing saying that not all information is 100% accurate



+ Byakko	Mar 5 2007, 08:01 AM Post #12
I once gave a Kangaroo a heart-attack just by staring at it Posts: 10,219 Group: Legend Member #158 Joined: February 7, 2005 Gender Male Favourite Anime Naruto Shippuuden What Browser do you use? Google Chrome Favourite Manga Fullmetal Alchemist	I often find Wikipedia reliable. It has helped me with alot of my projects and essays for school
	GFX Portfolio Tumblr DeviantArt Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"


Meowth	Mar 5 2007, 08:02 AM Post #13
=._.= Posts: 130,670 Group: Princess Member #23 Joined: November 22, 2004 Gender Female Country United Kingdom Favourite Anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya What Browser do you use? FireFox Favourite Manga Fruits Basket	Nope, my link was just a YTMND, just because I thought I'd use it insted of saying wrong Some kids will copy anything of the internet and say they did it and try to get away with it, I've knowen people print somthing off a website that wasn't even relevent to the homework they where suppost to do. Most things on Wikipedia are true unless you are unfortunate to come across a page that has been vandalised, in which case, it would be best to check the previous version of the article and revert it if it has been vandalised. On the other hand, your teacher might be wrong but they think they are right and in which case say what you found was wrong. Then again, it's always good to use more than one source, that way you can compare with each of them to see if they match, if they do then the wikipedia entry is true.



DarkEco	Mar 5 2007, 09:33 AM Post #14
The Legend Returns Posts: 606 Group: Member Member #1,807 Joined: October 13, 2006	I use Wikipedia all the time Firstly thay have good renders and secondly they have everything
	USS Clan Tenkaichi Budokai, # of wins: 0 Gifts [x][x][x] Thanks to those members that made me these sigs =)


Meowth	Mar 5 2007, 09:52 AM Post #15
=._.= Posts: 130,670 Group: Princess Member #23 Joined: November 22, 2004 Gender Female Country United Kingdom Favourite Anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya What Browser do you use? FireFox Favourite Manga Fruits Basket	Wikipedia has renders?!



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