The Wikipedia is a wonderful Internet resource. But if you are researching on the Internet, it is important to realize that the Wikipedia is a communal tool. It strives for accuracy and reliability, as well as including references, just as any good research tool would. However, because the Wiki consists of data that is compiled and added to by users, it may not be 100% accurate all the time. Anyone can submit to the Wiki, and even though there are people who go back through each submission and check for accuracy and such... Well, I will just leave it to you to imagine how many people are online and capable of typing anything they wanna type, whether its real or not.
I love the Wikipedia as a starting point and as a general reference tool, same as you would use any reference tool. If you want a quick definition or full description about something, it's sufficient. If you need more indepth or specific information, you can get good resources from there as well, but you need to dig further than the Wiki will give you. Plus, the Wiki will warn you if an article needs to be checked for errors or needs references. Pay attention to these.
If you've never come across the Wikipedia before, check it out, because it is awesome!
Friday, August 15, 2008
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