three cheers for wikipedia!

I hate wikipedia.

I really do.

Anyone can add, delete or change information. As a result, lack of citation and sources used in their articles (some have adequate sourcing), the reliability is somewhat diminished.

However, although using wikipedia as a source in a uni essay is hot ground for failure, 2 days my essay is due and wiki is the only thing i have. At least I have sources I can bullshit my way through that to a pass.

Well, hip hip, horray!

-Davo, you have a repeated habit of waiting until the last 2 days to do your papers!! No wonder you're stressed.

I couldn't find the last thread where you were under the gun....

Two of my friends were working on the same homework assignment (separately) and looking up definitions to obscure scientific words. When one of the came across a blank page, he made up a definition for the word. The other guy used it and handed it in without knowing. Hilarity ensued.

But yeah, I sometimes trust Wiki LESS than the rest of the net, except when I see the same article copied elsewhere.

I rarely wikipedia for any type of research. I have on occasion perused some of the pages looking at pages of local interest in my area. I always come across wrong information and update it. Whenever possible, I cite my source of info and also have an account there in case the powers that be there need to followup.

Wikipedia is great for finding other sources for research, but not for the research itself. Use your library's catalogue system.

Also, don't wait til 2 days before due date to start an essay!

^Why? I have and got A's on all of them. I have a 1200 due Friday where I still need to reread Gilgamesh and Oedipus Rex.

Wiki is awesome! Although I only used it recently once, just for a summary of a scene in a book. They can get boring sometimes.

^Why? I have and got A's on all of them. I have a 1200 due Friday where I still need to reread Gilgamesh and Oedipus Rex.

Wiki is awesome! Although I only used it recently once, just for a summary of a scene in a book. They can get boring sometimes.

Some of us are doing a real degree :p

I have a habit of editing wiki pages. :naughty:

All of my classes gave us zeros if we used Wikipedia as a source. I agree with their decision to do this as I HATE that people cite that site.

just be careful. I had a professor who wouldn't accept Wikipedia as a credible source for any of his papers. it cost me an A.

It's not a credible source.

Most decent Wikipedia articles cite their own sources. Track them down and use them.

Research is research IMO.
I just wouldnt use wiki as my only source.
They do offer some off-site links that can help narrow down a few facts.

Plus waiting untill the last minute to do your papers. :nono:

The Problem With Wikipedia. (http://xkcd.com/214/)

That's not a problem, that's awesome!


(Yeah, I've been there too)

It's not a credible source.

Most decent Wikipedia articles cite their own sources. Track them down and use them.
I cheated, I used Wiki and sourced THEIR sources.

It was on Guitar Amp history and development from valve to solid state (and the difference thereof).

I had other sources that I used as well, but NONE as detailed as wikipedia.

Also, I only used wiki as a last resort, and I did use proper webpages (.edu ones) and books I had hired to complete the essay, but after hours of research I'd had enough and just used wiki to stretch me that last part on guitar's.

Thats funny Davo, about the Amps.

I used wiki to find info on a leslie speaker cabnet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_speaker).
The pic in my sig is a tiny blue print of one i'd like to build some day.... just not enough hours in a day. lol
If it wasn't for wiki, I might have ever found a actual blue print of the original design.

have a great weekend everyone.

i use wiki a lot because i tend to look up a lot of different things. when i check them out i generally give the article a quick read and then move on to the sources. a problem arises when they cite scientific papers that i don't have access to, that pisses me off.

i had a business prof let me use wikipedia. a bunch of the students were against it but it was for basic marketing so it wasn't an important class.