Why do teachers tell students not to use Wikipedia?

Many colleges and universities, as well as public and private secondary schools, have policies that prohibit students from using Wikipedia as their source for doing research papers, essays, or equivalent assignments. This is because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone at any moment.

Why do teachers tell you to not use Wikipedia?

Even back in 2006, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales told students not to cite it for class projects or serious research. So why should you not use Wikipedia: Wikipedia is not considered scholarly. Wikipedia acknowledges that its information is not properly vetted.

Why should a student not use Wikipedia as a source?

Wikipedia is not a reliable source for citations elsewhere on Wikipedia. As a user-generated source, it can be edited by anyone at any time, and any information it contains at a particular time could be vandalism, a work in progress, or simply incorrect.

Why is it inappropriate to use Wikipedia as a source?

Users may be reading information that is outdated or that has been posted by someone who is not an expert in the field —or by someone who wishes to provide misinformation. While Wikipedia editors do correct misinformation, observers have found that they don't catch everything—at least not right away.

What do teachers have against Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is not a stable source, Wikipedia is written by volunteers (not accredited scholars), Wikipedia avoids original research, Wikipedia only summarizes academic and journalistic sources (which are good sources for research papers).

Wikipedia: Why Teachers REALLY hate it

Is Wikipedia allowed in school?

In most academic institutions, references to Wikipedia, along with most encyclopedias, are unacceptable for research papers. It depends on what teachers accept. Wikipedia can be an excellent starting place for further research.

Is it OK to cite Wikipedia?

There is disagreement about whether Wikipedia can be considered a reliable source, but most academics agree that you shouldn't cite it in your writing, for two main reasons: As an online encyclopedia, Wikipedia is a tertiary source, which means it doesn't provide original insights or analysis.

Why are we not allowed to use Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a great tool for getting a quick introduction to unfamiliar topics, but many educators frown on the use of Wikipedia. Here's why: Wikipedia content is not necessarily written by subject experts, and may be inadequate or incorrect. Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings.

Is it illegal to use Wikipedia?

If you are unwilling or unable to use the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License or the GNU Free Documentation License for your work, use of Wikipedia content is unauthorized. Small quotations of Wikipedia content, with its source attributed, may be permissible under the "fair use" clause of US copyright law.

Is it illegal to mess with Wikipedia?

Vandalizing Wikipedia or otherwise causing disruption is against the site's terms of use. Vandals are often blocked from editing, and may also be further banned according to the terms of use. Vandalism can be committed by either guest editors (IP addresses) or those with registered accounts.

Is Wikipedia good for students?

Students can find valuable information such as important scholars on the topic by scrolling to the “Notes” and “References” sections of the Wikipedia page. Here they can find out who authored the various sources used in the article, as well as the citation information needed to locate additional books and articles.

Who owns Wikipedia?

Who owns Wikipedia? Wikipedia's tech framework is supported by the Wikimedia Foundation, which also supports Wikipedia's sister projects, including Wiktionary, Wikibooks, and others, and owns all of their domain names.

Why is Wikipedia good for students?

Even doctors may find information on Wikipedia. Effectively navigating a Wikipedia article can provide students with an opportunity to learn about peer review, sourcing, footnotes, and internet research. It also teaches critical-thinking skills.

Why do teachers get apples?

Apples were seen as a representation of knowledge and wisdom, and by giving one to a teacher, students acknowledged the importance of education in their lives. And just like the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” an apple for the teacher promoted good health and a bright future.

What are three reasons college professors generally don t want you to cite a Wikipedia article in your paper?

Because of their open participation, unreliability, and (potentially) shallow topic coverage, you generally should not cite Wikipedia articles as authoritative sources in college-level writing.

Can Wikipedia be edited by anyone?

Wikipedia is a wiki, meaning anyone can edit nearly any page and improve articles immediately. You do not need to register to do this, and anyone who has edited is known as a Wikipedian or editor. Small edits add up, and every editor can be proud to have made Wikipedia better for all.

Is Wikipedia 100% right?

However, the results should not be seen as support for Wikipedia as a totally reliable resource as, according to the experts, 13 percent of the articles contain mistakes (10% of the experts reported factual errors of an unspecified degree, 3% of them reported spelling errors)."

Is editing Wikipedia a crime?

The Wikipedia article about Wikipedia is just like any other article: in theory anyone can edit. In practice, the page is "semi-protected", which means that to edit it one has to have a registered account that is at least 4 days old with at least 10 edits (i.e. the "autoconfirmed" user right).

Is Wikipedia no longer free?

Wikipedia is free content that anyone can edit, use, modify, and distribute.

Why is Wikipedia not censored?

On Wikipedia, the general concept is that concepts should not be censored, and that media which illustrates such concepts should likewise not be censored, if it has encyclopedic value. Determining whether something has encyclopedic value is subjective and debated.

Can you legally use images from Wikipedia?

The GFDL license under which Wikipedia is released explicitly allows our content to be used commercially. For this reason, all our free content must allow commercial use, even though Wikipedia itself is non-profit.

Why do people use Wikipedia?

However, the fact that Wikipedia is written by several people actually makes it stronger in this respect. Wikipedia is written by volunteers from all sorts of backgrounds. This ensures that Wikipedia is unbiased and very up to date. Random page patrollers personally make sure that it is free from misinformation.

How does Wikipedia get its information?

Using sources. Wikipedia is fundamentally built on research that has been collected and organized from reliable sources, as described in content policies such as this one. If no reliable independent sources can be found on a topic, Wikipedia should not have an article about it.

Can you cite Wikipedia in MLA?

Here's what a Wikipedia citation looks like in MLA format: “Page name.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Day Month Year last updated, permalink. Example: “The Fellowship of the Ring.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 May 2022, en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

Does Wikipedia use Harvard referencing?

Harvard University Press, 1971, p. 1. This type of citation is usually given as a footnote, and is the most commonly used citation method in Wikipedia articles.