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Questions tagged [wikipedia]

Wikipedia is a free encyclopaedia that anyone can edit, and a place of first resort for many people to find knowledge about a vast array of subjects.

2 votes
1 answer
161 views

How do I go about adding a figure from APS journals to Wikipedia?

I would like to add a figure from an article published in Physical Review E to a Wikipedia article. I have already contacted the corresponding author for permission, but I am not sure how I should ...
Emmy B's user avatar
  • 23
13 votes
7 answers
8k views

Is it advisable to use Wikipedia for note-making?

Some people summarize the content of a lecture to deepen their understanding, but I am thinking about using Wikipedia instead. Specifically, I mean finding the Wikipedia article (in my primary, non-...
user46812's user avatar
  • 173
10 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is it OK to write Wikipedia articles about your research?

On Wikipedia, people sometimes write articles on their research topic or add their results to existing articles (probably in order to increase their visibility). I make this assumption if the ...
Libavi's user avatar
  • 690
2 votes
3 answers
437 views

Am I responsible for a Wikipedia article if I wrote it? [closed]

Some time ago I wrote a few Wikipedia articles covering a rather obscure event I was interested in. I did it more or less completely out of interest and was not paid in any way. Although Wikipedia is ...
Allure's user avatar
  • 133k
5 votes
3 answers
591 views

Is a journal based on extending Wikipedia articles feasible?

A large part of the work in writing a paper in my field (theoretical CS and economics) is writing the introduction, the problem description, the motivation, and the related work. A large part of this ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
135 views

How to decode a difficult citation in Wikipedia with "Historical Library"? [closed]

Historical Library, V,39,1. -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligures#cite_note-89 I came across this (bad?) citation while reading Wikipedia and I don't know how to follow it. Can someone please ...
Jacob Stewart's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
384 views

Scientific Topic on Wikipedia originated from a Scientific Article with Low Citations

As fas as I see it, one way to known if certain scientific article is important or relevant, is to see how much cited it is .. For example, let's take Karl Schwarzschild He's known better known for ...
Nau's user avatar
  • 931
2 votes
1 answer
150 views

Wikipedia paragraph in the Introduction section?

The Introduction section of a paper is supposed to broadly introduce the topic. What better beginning of a broad chapter than a part of the Wikipedia summary paragraph on the topic? Because it is free ...
Vorac's user avatar
  • 149
2 votes
1 answer
239 views

Does copying facts from Wikipedia, with attribution, constitute plagiarism?

I had an assignment where I had to create a web-based advertisement for a Computer that was created in the 1970 era or earlier. In my advertisement, I copied facts from Wikipedia such as "Output ...
Nick's user avatar
  • 21
7 votes
4 answers
715 views

Would it be inappropriate to cite wikipedia for something trivial in an academic article? [duplicate]

Edit: I believe this is not a duplicate of Are there instances where citing Wikipedia is allowed?, because that question asks about citing Wikipedia for knowledge that is very basic but is nonetheless ...
Ceph's user avatar
  • 212
0 votes
4 answers
430 views

Is it acceptable to cite an article from a corporate website? Can Wikipedia be used to prove credibility?

I need relatively broad information on the functionality of a certain technology as part of the exposition to my seminar paper. As scholarly papers tend to focus on very specific questions, already ...
StckXchnge-nub12's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
6k views

Why is Reddit not a reliable source of experts? [closed]

Some people say that you should take for granted for opinions on Reddit, because comparing it to academic journals is like comparing kindergarten to university. But I don't understand. Well, it's true ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 8,266
4 votes
4 answers
993 views

Is it a good idea to include the writing of a wikipedia article(s) on your CV before grad school application?

I am considering applying for graduate school at some point, and I am wondering how academia looks upon contributions to Wikipedia. Essentially, the article will be a dedicated to a very specific ...
ags14's user avatar
  • 79
4 votes
6 answers
693 views

How to cite that something is *not* on Wikipedia

I am presently writing an article about a certain class of discrete probability distributions, and I want to mention that the distribution is relatively obscure compared to other common distributions. ...
Ben's user avatar
  • 70.1k
7 votes
2 answers
499 views

Is it true that articles cited in Wikipedia get more citations?

It is famously known that “visibility” of an article influences its citation count. Is it true that articles cited in Wikipedia page get more academic citations?
Mohaqiq's user avatar
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8 votes
8 answers
8k views

Write 'According to Wikipedia' in a PhD thesis [duplicate]

I am writing a PhD thesis in robotics and I was wondering if it sounds good to start a phrase with: 'According to Wikipedia ...' Do you think I can do that or not?
desmond13's user avatar
  • 412
6 votes
2 answers
650 views

Wikipedia article about PhD thesis

During my PhD, I developed a new microscopy technique and soon I will submit a major paper presenting the work. I am now in the job market looking for postdocs, not necessarily in the same field where ...
user avatar
13 votes
4 answers
769 views

Use of Wikipedia images I created myself

I have created several images for Wikipedia and would like to use them for my own poster/talks as well. However I am concerned that my colleagues will assume that I took them from Wikipedia and will ...
Jannick's user avatar
  • 233
6 votes
3 answers
659 views

Why are new encyclopedias being published when there is Wikipedia?

Recently, I have noticed that I have been visiting Wikipedia more and more frequently for finding information on technical materials that I need for my work and research. Over time, I have noticed ...
MxNx's user avatar
  • 2,200
48 votes
4 answers
5k views

What are the pros and cons of giving students assignments to write Wikipedia articles?

The Wikimedia Foundation initiated an education program at U.S. universities that in 2010 encouraged government, law, and public policy students from 33 classes at 22 programs to contribute to ...
user2521204's user avatar
  • 1,061
2 votes
0 answers
53 views

Is it okay to cite a Wikipedia page address as a definition of a concept used in my thesis? [duplicate]

I'm using a concept in part of my thesis that is not very well-known, so it's good to give an explanation before going through the rest of the thesis. I'm wondering if I can simply give a Wikipedia ...
Ehsan 's user avatar
  • 437
0 votes
3 answers
1k views

Master's Thesis - using wikipedia contents in application

I'm writing a mobile application which will be part of my master's thesis. In my application I'm using contents from the wikipedia (small fragments of articles and pictures) to present my solution on ...
Bakus123's user avatar
  • 103
2 votes
2 answers
827 views

Should I quote Wikipedia if I can't rephrase it? [duplicate]

I want to write down this idea that I get from Wikipedia: both (James Watson and Francis Crick) thanked the Schroedinger's book for their inspiration. (More specifically, that page is What Is Life?, ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 8,266
10 votes
1 answer
280 views

Examples of research resources for which Wikipedia is known as being amongst top referrers?

Wikimedia sites – and Wikipedias in particular – direct a lot of traffic to many web resources, including research-related ones. Click stream data is not recorded on the Wikimedia end, ...
Daniel Mietchen's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
730 views

Why are contributions to the education of the broader public not valued much within academia?

Scientists not only need to discover new knowledge but also have to share the knowledge to others. For the former, we have things like universities, collaborate groups and journals to take charge. For ...
Ooker's user avatar
  • 8,266
3 votes
5 answers
20k views

What is the IEEE citation style for content obtained from wikipedia?

I have added a paragraph from wikipedia in my thesis. Now I need to add reference to that wikipedia page. What is the IEEE formatting and citation style for that? Currently I use as below. In chapter ...
Bishan's user avatar
  • 147
24 votes
5 answers
4k views

Is it ethical for a student to edit the Wikipedia page of his advisor?

I have seen quite a few students editing the Wikipedia page of their advisors. I wonder what the view of the academic community are on this. There might be some conflict of interest since promoting ...
Franck Dernoncourt's user avatar
89 votes
15 answers
15k views

Why are some professors critical of even casual use of Wikipedia?

Many of the professors and lecturers I come across are very critical of Wikipedia, but they never give proper support for their claims of "Wikipedia is bullshit!". And they threaten "Do not use ...
Jake's user avatar
  • 821
26 votes
4 answers
6k views

Is it unprofessional to use graphics from Wikipedia in a poster?

Is it an acceptable practice to use simple graphics found on Wikipedia (and hence in Wikimedia Commons) in a conference poster? From the legal point of view, this seems to be fine, as long as the ...
Jakub Konieczny's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
4k views

How to cite simple definitions when writing university papers?

When writing any kind of paper or homework at the university I am supposed to give references for my citations. At the same time, sources like Wikipedia are not considered good for university level. ...
user1880405's user avatar
13 votes
7 answers
2k views

When is it appropriate to add references to own papers on Wikipedia?

The Wikipedia rules about citing yourself state: Using material you have written or published is allowed within reason, but only if it is relevant, conforms to the content policies, ... and is not ...
bci's user avatar
  • 155
35 votes
5 answers
7k views

Is it problematic to use a Wikipedia article I wrote in my PhD thesis?

I'm working on a specific subject, and I thought that sharing my bibliographical and synthesis work from peer-reviewed journals on Wikipedia could be a good idea. Moreover, there is no Wikipedia entry ...
jrjc's user avatar
  • 471
4 votes
3 answers
2k views

Should I cite sources about a technology description?

I want to add some description of a technology (Node.js = server-side JavaScript) in my thesis. The description is about what exactly this technology is, how it works, what it can do etc. I want to ...
Sorin Adrian Carbunaru's user avatar
12 votes
5 answers
865 views

Publishing a review in a peer-reviewed Wiki vs a traditional journal?

The topic of Wikipedia contribution has come up before, but I am interested in the community's opinion on peer-reviewed wiki publishing (e.g., Scholarpedia). I would like to know if there is any ...
user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
505 views

Should I treat specialized wikis with the same scrutiny as Wikipedia itself?

Suppose I am making a paper on the impact of popular TV shows on the spread of correct knowledge and facts about current and past events. Shows like South Park, The Simpsons and likely others often ...
Nzall's user avatar
  • 2,106
65 votes
11 answers
14k views

Are there instances where citing Wikipedia is allowed?

For example, suppose you're writing an article about triangles, and you want to include a short proof of Pythagoras' theorem, but you can't quite remember how to derive it, so you pop over to: https://...
Jamie Twells's user avatar
17 votes
2 answers
4k views

Should I include a reference for an image that is released into the public domain?

I am writing my thesis and came across an image on Wikipedia that I would like to use. The licensing on this image is: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain....
Gerhard Burger's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
23k views

What's the name of Wikipedia's default referencing style?

What's the name of the Default Referencing Style that Wikipedia Uses? Specifically, I'm looking for the name of the style that is used when you use the referencing styles use by default when you click ...
Josh Pinto's user avatar
23 votes
7 answers
8k views

How should I cite something learned second-hand (eg, from Wikipedia) when I haven't seen the primary source?

I want to cite something that I have learned from a Wikipedia page. However, I'm loathe to cite Wikipedia because of the perception of it by my tutors, so I try to cite the original source. What ...
James's user avatar
  • 588
29 votes
5 answers
2k views

Value of contributions to Wikipedia when applying for academic jobs

The quality of articles in Wikipedia has grown tremendously in the last few years. A "good article" requires a big list of necessities, including coherence, readability, comprehensiveness and credible ...
Bravo's user avatar
  • 23.1k