Wikipedia: Why do my instructors say NO?
- Articles may be biased, incomplete, or vandalized.
- May contain obvious oversights or omissions.
- Many contributors do not cite their sources.
- Bibliographies are frequently incomplete or out-of-date.
- Credentials of authors vary.
- Continually edited >100,000 edits/day.
- Can propagate misinformation
Wikipedia: How can I use it well?
- Useful for background information, ideas for keywords.
- Contains many viable links and references.
- Excels in popular culture, emerging technology, and obscure subjects.
- DON"T rely on it or cite it as a source of information, but only as a starting place for exploration.
- DON'T rely on it or cite it as a justification for an argument! (you might cite sources it links to, but only if you find them to be credible, accurate, useful, etc.).