Research Tutorial

  • Library Research Tutorial
  • What Is a Thesis Statement?
  • Topic Development
  • Improve Your Research Question
  • Good and Bad Research Questions
  • Video Review
  • Sources for Background Reading
  • What about Wikipedia?
  • Related Terms
  • Subject Terms
  • Boolean Searching
  • Advanced Searching Techniques
  • Definition of "Scholarly"
  • Subject Guides
  • Individual Databases
  • Open Access Resources
  • Google Scholar
  • Library Catalog
  • Evaluation of Sources
  • Academic Writing
  • Writing Resources
  • Citing Sources
  • Citation Formats
  • Citation Resources
  • Academic Integrity
  • Research on the Job

When Is Wikipedia Useful?

  • Can be a useful place to start when you don't know much about a topic.  It can be great for background information,  but for the type of academic research you will be doing at UMGC, it is better to use an academic subject encyclopedia from one of the library’s databases already mentioned (Gale, SAGE, or Oxford Reference).
  • Can be written and edited by anyone . However, unlike the library’s subject encyclopedias, this means the content is dynamic, and can change at any time, and there is no way to guarantee the author’s expertise.

Wikipedia can be safely used in the following ways:

  • As a Starting Point - Wikipedia can give you background information on a topic, as well as perspectives you can use when formulating a research topic. You should not cite Wikipedia as a source for your research. You should always validate anything you use for research in a reliable source.
  • Finding Sources - The reference list at the bottom of a Wikipedia page allows you to access many types of sources on the topic, including academic journal articles, news sources, and even primary sources. Even if there are no actual links to these sources, you can search the library databases, or Google for full-text copies of articles or books listed.

For more information on contributing to Wikipedia, see Editing and Contributing to Wikipedia , from Cornell University.

For more information on Wikipedia inaccuracies, see: List of Wikipedia controversies

  • << Previous: Sources for Background Reading
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  • Last Updated: Nov 9, 2023 10:44 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.umgc.edu/research-tutorial

IMAGES

  1. Is Wikipedia a credible source?

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

  2. Wikipedia References

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

  3. Tips For How To Write A Scientific Research Paper

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

  4. How to Write a Research Paper in 11 Easy Steps

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

  5. 6 Top Reference Sites to Write a Winning Research Paper

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

  6. Research Paper Citing Help

    wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper quizlet

VIDEO

  1. What is Citation?

  2. Adding Citations to Wikipedia Articles

  3. What kinds of information can be published on Wikipedia?

  4. How to cite an article on Wikipedia.org?

  5. The Voices of Good vs Evil

  6. How Does Wikipedia Work?

COMMENTS

  1. ITE Chapter 3 Quiz Flashcards

    Tim Berners Lee. Wikipedia is a good reference for a research paper. False. A computer connected to the Internet that asks for data is a (n) ________. Client. AND, OR, and NOT are examples of ________ operators. Boolean. ________ is a professional, business-oriented social networking site. Linkedin.

  2. Quiz 1: Getting started with research Flashcards

    2) What the essential concepts are for your topic. 3) How much information is available online. 4) Which Library of Congress call numbers apply to your topic. 5) Whether your research topic is focused and clear. 6) Whether there is a Wikipedia article about your topic. 7) How much information you need for your project.

  3. Writing a Research Paper Quiz 2.3 Flashcards

    A research paper is an extended essay, which uses outside sources with documentation. Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like One shortcut for finding good sources Is:, One of the essential steps to keeping a research paper free from plagiarising web sources is to:, Which of these questions is too factual to be ...

  4. Hiebert Library: Using Wikipedia for Academic Research: Home

    One of the greatest uses of Wikipedia for your academic research is using it to get a quick overview of your subject. It is an encyclopedia after all. This is particularly useful if you are researching a subject with which you are not familiar. It may be less useful if you are researching within your discipline, as it may be too general for the ...

  5. Is Wikipedia a reliable source for academic research?

    There's some disagreement about whether Wikipedia can be considered a reliable source. Because it can be edited by anyone, many people argue that it's easy for misleading information to be added to an article without the reader knowing. Others argue that because Wikipedia articles cite their sources, and because they are worked on by so ...

  6. Wikipedia:Researching with Wikipedia

    Wikipedia can be a great tool for learning and researching information. However, as with all tertiary reference works, Wikipedia is not considered to be a reliable source as not everything in Wikipedia is accurate, comprehensive, or unbiased. Wikipedia, like other encyclopedias, is intended to provide an overview of topics and indicate sources of more extensive an academic information.

  7. Is Wikipedia a good source? 2 college librarians explain when to use

    There are 10 rules and five pillars for contributing to the site. The five pillars establish Wikipedia as a free online encyclopedia, with articles that are accurate and cite reliable sources, and ...

  8. Using the Web to Get Stuff Done: Effective Research with Wikipedia

    Use References to find more sources. Wikipedia is a great place to find more material. Look for references at the end of the article in the References section and the Further reading and resources section.. The References section near the end of the article contains all of the sources that were used to write that Wikipedia article. According to Wikipedia's core content policies, this ...

  9. UMGC Library: Research Tutorial: What about Wikipedia?

    As a Starting Point - Wikipedia can give you background information on a topic, as well as perspectives you can use when formulating a research topic. You should not cite Wikipedia as a source for your research. You should always validate anything you use for research in a reliable source. Finding Sources - The reference list at the bottom of a ...

  10. Online Research: Wikipedia References

    Wikipedia's References. As we can see from the pros and cons list, while you don't want to use Wikipedia.org websites as a source for a research paper, the articles may help you get started by providing an easy-to-read introduction of a topic. Even more useful, the articles might have references to sources that ARE acceptable.

  11. Wikipedia:Research help

    There are many ways to get help on Wikipedia, and friendly people who can help you. If a Wikipedia article doesn't exist or you can't find an article that contains what you're looking for, you can ask a Wikipedia editor at our reference desk to research it for you. If you research the topic, you can add a reference and a summary of that source ...

  12. Wikipedia: Is It an Acceptable Source for an Academic Paper?

    Wikipedia does have its uses for an academic researcher. It often provides a good starting point for further research, particularly on recent events and publications. Wikipedia is not supposed to contain original research, and its references and citations often excellent can give a researcher a head start for digging deeper. By all means use ...

  13. Wikipedia:Wikipedia as a Citable Source

    Importance. Research papers, particularly the one research paper students write in their eleventh grade, have always been an integral part of high school education.They stress the need to verify information and teach students how to evaluate sources critically, and as a result, teachers have developed various criteria to help students identify credible sources, an especially important skill in ...

  14. Students are told not to use Wikipedia for research. But it's a

    Wikipedia can be a tool for better media literacy. Research suggests Australian children are not getting sufficient instruction in spotting fake news. Only one in five young Australians in 2020 ...

  15. What's Wrong with Wikipedia?

    Sometimes inaccurate information is posted to Wikipedia on purpose, as a hoax. In some well-documented cases, this inaccurate information continues to spread when people take it from Wikipedia and use it in books and articles. If you do start with Wikipedia, you should make sure articles you read contain citations-and then go read the cited ...

  16. Is Wikipedia a Good Research Tool?

    That's the central premise of Wikipedia: that anyone can add to the world's body of knowledge. By taking the creation of an encyclopedia or reference database out of the hands of an elite few working for a top encyclopedia or dictionary, founders Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger wanted to decentralize the organization of knowledge, allowing new voices to take part in the research and ...

  17. Students are told not to use Wikipedia for research, but it's a

    This means when faced with an unfamiliar online claim, students should leave the web page they're on and open a new browser tab. They can then investigate what trusted sources say about the claim ...

  18. Chapter 3 Flashcards

    Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like The Internet is ______, The World Wide Web was based on a protocol developed by ________., Software that enables you to display and interact with text and other media on the web is a web ______ and more.

  19. Should university students use Wikipedia?

    Mon 13 May 2013 05.11 EDT. It goes without saying that students use Wikipedia extensively, probably more than any other social group. Although the website's founder Jimmy Wales once warned readers ...

  20. Wikipedia:Citing Wikipedia

    Wikipedia has a tool to generate citations for particular articles. For the cite tool, see Special:Cite, or follow the "Cite this page" link in the toolbox on the left of the page in the article you wish to cite.. The following examples assume you are citing the Wikipedia article on Plagiarism, using the version that was submitted on July 22, 2004, at 10:55 UTC, and that you retrieved the ...

  21. LIBR 902 Flashcards

    Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like When searching databases for information beyond background reading, one should: A. Use specific terms related to the main ideas in your topic B. Use general terms related to your topic as a whole C. Use specialized vocabulary and technical terms D. Use common, easily understood words E. A and C F. B and D G. A and D F. B and C ...

  22. CIS 105

    Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like True or false? With a client-based e-mail account, you are able to view your e-mail only from the computer on which the client program is installed., AND, OR, and NOT are examples of _____ operators., Software that enables you to display and interact with text and other media on the web is a web _____. and more.