Researching Online: Is Wikipedia Adequate?

[vague]

Do you think sources like wikipedia.org and similar websites are adequate for information and research?

 

[Bladibla]

I would say for infomation yes, for research no. In terms of information, wiki is pretty detailed for example in certain mathematics (only Wolframs site bests it)

Research requires you to extrapolate with he existing data. So therefore, in a real research program like a Ph.d, no. But for something little like school science essays, its is quite valid.

 

[ComputerGeek]

yes they are. just because they are world editable does not mean the information is not accurate.

Sure, I would not use an article that is in dispute (which is clearly stated) but for technical research it is fantastic. Also, I would not use Wikipedia for doing anything but background information as to what something is (but then isn't that what encyclopedias are for in the first place?)

I think for background research, in which you would use an encyclopedia for anyway, wikipedia is fine for a Ph.d. level, what I would not use it for is research for work that has been done for things such as a thesis (though it might have some interesting external links that might help you out in that respect.

 

[loseyourname]

Personally, I use wikipedia as an index. I'll never cite it, but the information contained in its articles should include references. So I'll look up those references, and if they're reputable and peer-reviewed, I'll cite those. It's good means to point you in a certain direction and to give you an overview of the topic you're researching.

 

[Anttech]

For technical info its ok. Not as in depth as perhaps you need, but the all the technical info I have come across is typically of a good quality