Wikipedia in Academia: Useful Tool or Unreliable Crutch?
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Middlebury College banned Wikipedia citations after students repeatedly cited incorrect information. Was this the right call, or an overreaction? In this post, I explore the role Wikipedia should play in academic research—should it be a starting point, a banned source, or something in between? Let’s dive in.
Middlebury College's history department was justified in discouraging the use of Wikipedia as a primary source, but prohibiting it entirely is excessive. Wikipedia is a great place to start researching since it offers convenient access to basic information and citations that one can use to locate authoritative sources. However, because anyone can edit Wikipedia, its material is not always factual, and therefore should not be cited directly in academic work.
It is more equitable to educate students in how to use Wikipedia appropriately. Rather than ruling out its usage, teachers can make students verify facts with peer-reviewed sources and also use Wikipedia as a means of preliminary research but not a last authority. For as much as academic study must come to favor verified and authoritative sources, wholesale rejection of Wikipedia overlooks the role of Wikipedia in pointing students to these types of sources.