Determining Wikipedia Credibility

Presented by Ann WestrickFunded by a grant from the Jerome Library

Bowling Green State UniversityBowling Green, Ohio, USA

What is Wikipedia?

• Collaboratively written, electronic encyclopedia (Wikipedia, 2013).

Pros: Multiple viewpointsConstant updatesLots of links to related material

Con: Susceptible to vandalism so evaluation of information is important

Why use Wikipedia?

“Wikipedia is an excellent starting point for student inquiries and is particularly useful when investigating emerging topics not covered through other sources” (Lamb, 2013, p. 69).

“The prestigious journal Nature reported that Wikipedia’s accuracy for science-based articles nearly equaled the highly regarded Encyclopedia Britannica” (Klotter, 2009, p. 38).

Wikipedia = EncyclopediaYou should use Wikipedia if you would:

– Use an encyclopedia to get background information on a particular topic

– Look in an encyclopedia to get a general answer to a general question

– Refer to an encyclopedia to help you get the “big picture” of a concept or idea

Since Wikipedia is susceptible to vandalism, use CARS for

evaluation

• C = Credibility• A = Accuracy• R = Reasonableness• S = Support– (Badke, 2009, p.56)

C = Credibility

All Wikipedia articles are supposed to contain reliable sources to support what’s being said (Wikipedia, 2013).

– If there are few or no links to an article, it may not be credible.

– Wikipedia regularly flags articles which need citations.

Credible or not-so-credible?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=109th_Signals_Squadron&oldid=559713131

Since there are no

references cited for

this article, we cannot judge its

credibility .

Since there are

numerous references cited for

this article, we can more

accurately assess its

credibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Assassination_of_John_F._Kennedy&oldid=563653804

A = Accuracy

You can see when a Wikipedia page was last edited by clicking on the “View History” tab at the top of each page.

This page was last edited just hours before this video

was made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Artificial_intelligence&action=history

View History

A = Accuracy

Additionally, Wikipedia regularly flags pages which may need improvement. If you run across an article like this, you should question its accuracy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gerard_Musante&oldid=517227566

This article has multiple issues.

R = Reasonableness

• Wikipedia articles are intended to be neutral and not take a side on any issue (Wikipedia, 2013).– Wikipedia regularly flags pages which may which may be

biased. If you run across an article like this, you should question its credibility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Syrian_civil_war&oldid=563650903

A warning about an article lending “undue weight” to one side of an issue may indicate that it is unreasonable.

S = Support

Since Wikipedia is written collaboratively by (sometimes) anonymous authors, verifying who is writing can be almost impossible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Convention_to_propose_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution&action=history

The “View History” tab will show you who has authored each

page (though you will probably never know who they really are).

Who are 198.109.0.13 and

DeLear 12?

Two of he authors of this

page!

S = Support

You can get some sense of whether or not other Wikipedians trust a particular page by looking at “What links here” to the left of each page. If a lot of other pages link to the article you’re looking at, it’s a sign that other people trust its information.

The article “Convention to propose amendments to the United States

Constitution” links to over 500 other pages.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3AWhatLinksHere&limit=500&target=Convention+to+propose+amendments+to+the+United+States+Constitution&namespace=

Protected PagesAnother way to judge the credibility of a Wikipedia page is to click on “View Source” at the top of the page. If a page is prone to vandalism (like the one seen below) only certain people are allowed to edit it. If you find a “protected page,” it is watched more closely and is more likely to be credible.

Remember

• All research sources should be evaluated – not just Wikipedia.

• Wikipedia is a good place to start your research, but it’s a poor place to end. Always refer to the sources Wikipedia cites to get the full picture.

ReferencesBadke, W. (2009). Stepping beyond wikipedia.

Educational Leadership, 66(6), 54-58. Klotter, J. (2009). Wikipedia reliability. Townsend

Letter, (306), 38. Lamb, A. (2013). Wicked or wonderful: revisiting

wikipedia. Teacher Librarian, 40(4), 68-73.Wikipedia:about. (2013). Retrieved from: http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About