College: Wikipedia not approved source for papers

A place to rant about politics, life, or just anything you damn well feel like telling others.
Post Reply
User avatar
bubba
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Posts: 4765
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 10:24 am
Location: STL

College: Wikipedia not approved source for papers

Post by bubba »

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070213/ap_ ... NeReftiBIF
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Middlebury College history students are no longer allowed to use
Wikipedia in preparing class papers.

The school's history department recently adopted a policy that says it's OK to consult the popular online encyclopedia, but that it can't be cited as an authoritative source by students.

The policy says, in part, "Wikipedia is not an acceptable citation, even though it may lead one to a citable source."

History professor Neil Waters says Wikipedia is an ideal place to start research but an unacceptable way to end it.
User avatar
dicecca112
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 5014
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2004 10:40 am
Contact:

Post by dicecca112 »

well duh, anyone using wiki should be sent back to HS. There is this thing called books people
Image
cyberneticimplant
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 216
Joined: Sat Jul 15, 2006 3:00 pm

Post by cyberneticimplant »

Not surprising. In my chemistry classes we're not allowed to use Wikipedia as a reference.

I agree with that policy. When writing a paper it is unprofessional to use information from sources that anyone can edit.
User avatar
bubba
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Posts: 4765
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 10:24 am
Location: STL

Post by bubba »

:lol: Thought you college guys would get a kick out of that.
R3N3G4D3
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 121
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:06 pm

Post by R3N3G4D3 »

dicecca112 wrote:well duh, anyone using wiki should be sent back to HS. There is this thing called books people
Papers and research is one thing, but when I want to find quick information about some recent invention or industry-adopted standard, would make a lot more sense to check wikipedia than my university library. I understand schools having a problem with students relying solely on wikipedia, however it is a very good starting point even for research papers (especially considering that it generally lists a plethora of other sources for most of its information).
Antonik
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 229
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 10:59 am

Post by Antonik »

My college doesn't allow wikipedia as a source, So its pretty common policy.
User avatar
Kougar
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 251
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 12:59 pm
Location: Texas

Post by Kougar »

Yeah, for every major term paper or research project we've always been told Wikipedia isn't a valid source. Of course about half also said to either not use internet sources at all, or keep them to one or two at most. ;)
Core i7 920 @ 4.2GHz 1.36v
Gigabyte GA-X58-UD5
Under Water
User avatar
Digital Puppy
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4649
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:36 pm
Location: LA LA Land, CA
Contact:

Post by Digital Puppy »

I agree with most colleges...as a prof, I wouldn't (and don't) accept Wiki as a valid source for the reasons above. BUT, I do tell my students to go to Wiki for a better understanding of a topic and then identify valid sources of research from there. IMO Wikipedia is a good place for general understand or for an high-level overview.
Just a little puppy trying to make it in a big digital world.
Sovereign
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1045
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 5:28 pm

Post by Sovereign »

I would use Wikipedia for college stuff. But not the way you think. I'd find information in it (this is where the "good article" requirement comes in) that I wanted, and check its sources. Then, I'd find a source used in the article that is credible, and cite THAT.
Play
Q6600 @ 3.2GHz :: 8GB DDR2-800 :: eVGA 9800GX2 :: 7900GTX (secondary) :: abit IP35 Pro :: 150GB Raptor 10k RPM :: 2x750GB WD Caviar :: 120GB WD :: X-Fi XtremeMusic :: NEC 4551A :: BenQ DVD Combodrive (52x32x52) :: Dual 22" Acer AL2216W :: Thermaltake Armor Black :: Logitech Z5500 5.1

Work
Core 2 Duo @ 2.53GHz :: 4GB DDR3 @ 1067MHz :: 3670 :: Intel PM45 Chipset :: 500GB 5400RPM SATA :: Integrated Audio :: BD-ROM/DVD Burner :: 16" 1920x1080 RGBLED
User avatar
mongol05
Legit Fanatic
Legit Fanatic
Posts: 116
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 12:24 am
Location: Longview, TX, USA

Post by mongol05 »

I am an avid fan of Wikipedia. Whenever I have a question, I look there, but I wouldn't use it for a research paper. There have been too many times I've clicked on an article and seen, "OMG! I TOTALLY HAXXOR'D WIKIPEDIA LAWL!" to use it as a credible source.
Porthos
Asus M2N SLI Deluxe | Athlon 64 X2 4200+ | 2 GB Corsair XMS2 PC6400 | eVGA Geforce 7900 GT 256 MB
Athos
Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 | Athlon 64 3000+ | 1 GB PNY PC3200 | eVGA Geforce 6800 128 MB
Zelig
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 449
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2005 6:54 pm

Re: College: Wikipedia not approved source for papers

Post by Zelig »

History professor Neil Waters says Wikipedia is an ideal place to start research but an unacceptable way to end it.
My thoughts exactly.
cyberneticimplant wrote:I agree with that policy. When writing a paper it is unprofessional to use information from sources that anyone can edit.
The problem isn't so much that anyone can edit wiki, but rather that it's an encyclopedia. For academic papers, one should use primary sources if possible, or secondary sources, not tertiary sources like encyclopedias.
amdme127
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:43 pm

Post by amdme127 »

I used wikipedia on multiple occasions to research up stuff for fun or as a starting point for papers. I usually find that wikipedia has the same information on it and doesn't waste time with boring details like about 6-15 of the official sites. I happen to find it quite accurate for everything that I have looked up.
But still need to check sources and not make it the final researched data.
Azndude51
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 37
Joined: Thu Feb 15, 2007 9:17 pm
Location: Indiana

Post by Azndude51 »

amdme127 wrote:I used wikipedia on multiple occasions to research up stuff for fun or as a starting point for papers. I usually find that wikipedia has the same information on it and doesn't waste time with boring details like about 6-15 of the official sites. I happen to find it quite accurate for everything that I have looked up.
But still need to check sources and not make it the final researched data.
I completely agree with you
User avatar
stev
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1507
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2006 7:29 am
Location: Nashville, TN suburbs
Contact:

Post by stev »

I've used Wikipedia for general reference. By no means is it fully acurate or conclusive.

There is a bit of mis-information in it too. However, I only glean things that can be verified from it.
AMD X2 TK-57 1.90Ghz | F700 Quanta | PC2-5300 DDR2 2Gb | GeForce 7000M | DVDRAM GSA-T40N | HP LaserJet 1018
My Stats http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/ ... =&u=303718
Image
http://www.eff.org - Electronic Frontier Foundation - working to protect your digital rights
amdme127
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 1:43 pm

Post by amdme127 »

That's the way to go. Be sure of the information you glean and then check it if need be. Overall I have found it to be pretty darn accurate.
DrPsyche
Legit Little One
Legit Little One
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Oct 31, 2018 4:42 am

Topic

Post by DrPsyche »

We were allowed to cite Wikipedia in our high school papers though. Now, scholars may get rejected from journals (academic publications), because they are constantly citing Wikipedia pages.
Funny > Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a reliable source

MOD EDIT - Any more of the stupid spam links and you will be banned.
Post Reply