Over the years, many students have been repeatedly told that Wikipedia is a “bad” or “unreliable” source by their teachers, but is that totally accurate?
In reality, it’s more accurate than people give it credit for, and can be just as reliable as professional websites. Wikipedia may not be a replacement for every other source, but it certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.
Many students gravitate towards Wikipedia because of its simplicity. It explains the topic in short, easy-to-understand words that are much more comprehensible than something from a government website.
Most teachers disregard the website as a whole, but if a teacher does recommend Wikipedia, it’s mostly just for a baseline understanding of a topic, before using more reliable sources for more detailed information. This isn’t a bad way to use Wikipedia, but it can have a lot more value if you use it wisely.
For example, if you look at the cited sources at the bottom of the article, you might be able to find more information and check whether or not it is accurate. As said by 7th-grade ELA teacher, Mrs. Orabona, “You should always fact-check your facts.”
Another way to use it is alongside more reputable sources. You can use Wikipedia to get an explanation in simple terms, then use an official, reviewed website to make sure the information is correct.
Wikipedia may not be the most reliable source for a research project, but, as Mrs. Orabona said, “It’s more informal than formal; it can be used as a starting point to look for better resources.” You can use Wikipedia on an assignment, but it is more appropriate to use in more “casual” contexts.
One of the core functions of Wikipedia is that it can be edited by almost anyone. This is often cause for concern and is credited as why Wikipedia is unreliable, due to the fact that any unqualified person can type whatever they want. However, this is also a strength of the site.
If one user makes a mistake or deliberately posts incorrect information, other “authors” can correct this to make it more accurate, leading to a network of people correcting each other to make an article as true as possible.
This system isn’t perfect though, as it takes time for errors to be recognized and fixed and sometimes these false statements slip through the cracks, even if temporarily.
There also seems to be a precedent that Wikipedia is being phased out in our current world. Mr. Zammit, 7th-grade Civics teacher, commented, “I used Wikipedia more back in the day for a quick summary, but today, Google AI is a more reliable source of information.”
Wikipedia is certainly nowhere near perfect, but people shouldn’t overlook it as a decent source of information for a solid baseline understanding of almost any topic. Plus, there are many ways to use it wisely, such as checking the websites cited in the article and double-checking the information with other sources.
