Wikipedia has grown to be one of the most visited websites; it is now the sixth most frequented site globally, and according to some on campus, college students are beginning to view it as an acceptable scholarly source.
“I find it to be accurate, contrary to popular belief, and the information is there for you to pick and choose from,” said sophomore Kelsey Shoulla.
Sophomore Chris White uses Wikipedia, but never as a definitive answer or source for information.
“I use Wikipedia to see potential truth in the information there. I then further seek the truth about whatever it is that I looked up elsewhere. Wikipedia is never the last source for information because the information may not be credible.”
Although some students find Wikipedia to be a good source for information, a couple of professors at ENC say otherwise.
“I think [Wikipedia] is a fabulous idea. I think it’s definitely a great thing to have access to online … but I wouldn’t cite it … and I wouldn’t have students cite it in a scholarly paper,” said Dr. Karen Henck.
“It is essentially another form of an encyclopedia, and one that perhaps has additional issues of liability.”
Professor McCann also believes Wikipedia to be a great website, but not a great source for classwork.
“Everybody uses Wikipedia, but for school purposes I would like it to not be the front of the line. I would use books, scholarly essays and articles, and rely on the library.”
Although Wikipedia is growing more popular by the day, professors at ENC would rather students research reliable databases and take advantage of the library on campus, as well as libraries in the area.