Bring up Wikipedia in academic circles, and you will probably get a passionate argument of how this controversial site is ruining student research papers. I’ve seen many syllabuses (that is the way you spell it, FYI) with entire pages devoted to warning students about using Wikipedia references in anything academic – even discussion board replies.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say something that may not sit well with you are first – Wikipedia does make a great research site. So far, I’ve found it to be one of the best out there (if you don’t count search engines). Blasphemy, you say? Well, let me make my case.

First of all, I need to start by saying this: Wikipedia makes a horrible reference site. There’s one simple reason behind that: you should never quote a reference that can change. There are a few other reasons, but that is the main heart of that. Here’s the crazy thing most people don’t realize: the creators of Wikipedia agree with this. They always have. So – don’t blame Wikipedia for ruining research papers. Blame whoever didn’t teach your students better referencing skills in the first place.

The problem is, when we try to scare students away from referencing Wikipedia, we tend to make to whole site out as bad. And that’s just not the case.

I typically start any research project with Wikipedia. I am a big believer in Social Constructivism pedagogy. In basic terms, that means we construct knowledge by connecting new knowledge to old knowledge and share these connections with others.

For Constructivists like me, Wikipedia is a gold mine. Not only do you find articles on almost every subject imaginable, but you will also see links within the article that link to related articles as you read. Everything in Wikipedia is connected to existing concepts. So – you don’t just learn some random new fact – you can easily see how it fits into the greater body of general knowledge.

This, at least in my theory, is why Wikipedia is so popular and oft-quoted: people remember more of what they read there because it is connected to the greater body of worldwide knowledge.

The other great thing about Wikipedia is list of references and external links found at the bottom of most articles. These links usually lead to the sites or sources that do make good references. And these references also deal with another problem people have with Wikipedia: “since anyone can edit it, how do you know the information is correct?” Valid question, and Wikipedia is working on that in different ways. But here is my answer: don’t make Wikipedia the last word for your research. Check the references and check the external links – see where those lead you, and see if the Wikipedia article is correct. If not – then why not go back and correct it? That kind of is the point, anyway.