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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.

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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