To Wikipedia or not to Wikipedia
One of the most popular sites accessed here at school is Wikipedia. It is a great site because it is easy to use, the user interface is clean and clear and it has heaps of information on virtually any topic that you can imagine. Better than that, anyone can add to it or change what is already there. It is this very thing that is perhaps both Wikipedia's greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
Like all of you, I am still studying. I am currently doing my Masters and very much enjoying it. Last week we had to submit an assignment and today our lecturer sent us an email regarding the use of Wikipedia. He was baffled by the fact that some students had referenced Wikipedia in their assignments. To the bottom of his email he attached the following:
WIKIPEDIA WARNING
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has candidly advised college students not to use Wikipedia as a source. Speaking at a University of Pennsylvania conference called 'The Hyperlinked Society' Jimmy said he gets about 10 messages a week from students who've got into trouble for using the online encyclopedia. 'They say "Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia",' and the information proved to be incorrect.
Jimmy said he had little sympathy for such students, and thinks to himself 'For God's sake, you're in college; don't cite the encyclopedia.'
He added that the Wikipedia team has thought about producing a fact sheet for professors to students explaining what Wikipedia is and how it is not always a definitive source. 'It is pretty good, but you have to be careful with it,' said Jimmy. It's good enough knowledge, depending on what your purpose is.
admittedly you are not university students, but many of you soon will be, so it is a good idea to start getting into good habits now. Also, if you know better, why not choose to do better?
We subscribe to an online reference collection; Oxford Reference Online. It is an excellent selection of published reference books that have been put online so that schools can access all of these books without having to buy them all or replace them when new editions are printed. It is very easy to use, it has a variety of functions and provides huge amounts of information that is suitable for all students. The information is also guaranteed to have been written and edited by experts and authoritative sources.
There is more information about Wikipedia and researching on the Internet available on the 'Using the Internet' page of the virtual library. There is also a direct link to Oxford Reference. Please see the library staff if you can not remember the password or where to find it.
I would like you to share your thoughts on this topic by posting a comment.
TC
Like all of you, I am still studying. I am currently doing my Masters and very much enjoying it. Last week we had to submit an assignment and today our lecturer sent us an email regarding the use of Wikipedia. He was baffled by the fact that some students had referenced Wikipedia in their assignments. To the bottom of his email he attached the following:
WIKIPEDIA WARNING
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has candidly advised college students not to use Wikipedia as a source. Speaking at a University of Pennsylvania conference called 'The Hyperlinked Society' Jimmy said he gets about 10 messages a week from students who've got into trouble for using the online encyclopedia. 'They say "Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia",' and the information proved to be incorrect.
Jimmy said he had little sympathy for such students, and thinks to himself 'For God's sake, you're in college; don't cite the encyclopedia.'
He added that the Wikipedia team has thought about producing a fact sheet for professors to students explaining what Wikipedia is and how it is not always a definitive source. 'It is pretty good, but you have to be careful with it,' said Jimmy. It's good enough knowledge, depending on what your purpose is.
admittedly you are not university students, but many of you soon will be, so it is a good idea to start getting into good habits now. Also, if you know better, why not choose to do better?
We subscribe to an online reference collection; Oxford Reference Online. It is an excellent selection of published reference books that have been put online so that schools can access all of these books without having to buy them all or replace them when new editions are printed. It is very easy to use, it has a variety of functions and provides huge amounts of information that is suitable for all students. The information is also guaranteed to have been written and edited by experts and authoritative sources.
There is more information about Wikipedia and researching on the Internet available on the 'Using the Internet' page of the virtual library. There is also a direct link to Oxford Reference. Please see the library staff if you can not remember the password or where to find it.
I would like you to share your thoughts on this topic by posting a comment.
TC
posted by Library Blog | 2:09 pm
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