Reading #4

Reading #4
“Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade?”
By: Brock Read
This article examines the reliability of Wikipedia (the online encyclopedia) and ways to make the encyclopedia more reliable and accurate. Alexander M.C. Halavais a professor of communications at Quinnipiac College, preformed a little self test on this encyclopedia which everyone and anyone can contribute to by placing incorrect information in a number of different articles online. Expecting these inaccurate facts to go unnoticed, he was surprised to find that of all 13 inaccuracies placed throughout the online articles every single one was found and corrected within three hours of publication. The editors of Wikipedia also sought Mr. Halavais out to ask him to refrain from writing inaccurate material. The debate within academia is whether or not Wikipedia could ever be a truly reliable resource due to the fact that anyone can contribute and professors and experts are not given priority in publishing accurate material. The answer for some is yes while others are still skeptics. A number of research studies have been conducted comparing well established encyclopedias such as Britannica with Wikipedia and the results were favorable to the online publication. While Britannica averaged about three mistakes per article Wikipedia averaged only four per article on the same topic. Supporters of Wikipedia admit that some areas such as humanities are not as extensive and detailed as others but that is why wikipedians are pushing for professors and scholars to publish and help right some wrongs.

I believe that Wikipedia can be a valuable resource if used correctly. I personally would not take everything in Wikipedia at face value due to the fact that anyone can publish. Someone with no more expertise than I can add and edit information on Wikipedia with no checkpoint before its put out into internet space. Even if the information is wrong and will be corrected in a few hours, what about the people that look up that information and find if during that time… Wikipedia can be a good starting place for research but I have to say always verify, verify, verify with other sources before you believe.