http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6866713Oh my.
I know, I know, "encyclopedias" is not the proper plural form for "encyclopedia," but I didn't want to come across as pompous.
Obamanaut (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:29 PM
Original message
I looked at a rough draft of the beginning of a paper my grandson is preparing for a writing assignment for his English class. One of the sources he is citing is Wikipedia. I asked if the instructor really allows that as a credible source, and the answer was "Uh, everybody uses it. Why?"
Our schools are so screwn.
BakedAtAMileHigh (16 posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:31 PM
Response to Original message
1. turn it onto a teaching moment!
This would be a great opportunity to discuss information bias in the media and the move away from fact to opinion in modern American culture!
TicketyBoo (326 posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:33 PM
Response to Original message
2. I would say that Wikipedia is a good place to start for research, but nothing should be quoted directly from it as a source.
JuniperLea (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:43 PM
Response to Reply #2
6. Exactly... it's a decent information aggregate...
But it in itself is too riddled with bogus information. Best to rely on the sources they note... or not
By the way, one wonders why the late red round one is no longer in wikipedia.
rucky (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:34 PM
Response to Original message
3. Wikipedia is okay if you use it right...
Only use cited material, and follow the citations to their source
DrDan (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:35 PM
Response to Original message
4. would you have felt more comfortable had he sourced a hardback release from ann coulter, sarah palin, bill o'reilly, sean hannity, rush limbaugh, dick morris, karl rove, etc?
SemiCharmedQuark (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #4
11. The choice isn't "unreliable encyclopedia" or "unreliable book"
Good lord...learning which sources were acceptable and which were not was one of the first things they used to teach in school.
DrDan (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:50 PM
Response to Reply #11
14. my point exactly
Good Lord.
There are bogus sources everywhere - on-line and in print. Wikipedia has it's place - but it's limitations always need to be kept in mind. I would think it's use depends a good deal on the topic of the paper. For example, if a bio of some celebrity, then more valid than a serious research project. Also, what grade level is the student? Perhaps the paper was on the ills of internet sourcing. We know nothing of the context of the paper.
SemiCharmedQuark (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:57 PM
Response to Reply #14
16. But the OP is not discouraging use of the internet, but of Wikipedia.
What you are suggesting is that saying Glenn Beck's book is a poor source for historical information is like saying books are a poor source for information.
And no, not even for celebrity bios should Wikipedia be used as a source. It can be a great starting point but it should not be a source.
DrDan (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 03:23 PM
Response to Reply #16
19. we know absolutely nothing re the context or level of the paper
This might be a paper for a 6th grade class. (I say this knowing full well you will still find fault. oh well)
and how do you know what the OP is suggesting? Is Wikipdedia any better or any worse than any other Internet source?
Obamanaut (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:55 PM
Response to Reply #4
15. Good point.
Brickbat (619 posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:35 PM
Response to Original message
5. Pff. That's nothing. When I was working at the newspaper, I had to beg supervisors to remind the reporters and copy editors that Wikipedia is not an acceptable, quotable source.
LiberalFighter (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 01:59 PM
Response to Reply #5
7. That would be a good inclusion in a LTTE to challenge the reputation of any reporter.
Recursion (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:04 PM
Response to Original message
8. No encyclopedia is supposed to be used as a source
Wiki is an encyclopedia. Like any encyclopedia. you start your research there, and use it to find the works that you do cite.
SemiCharmedQuark (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:06 PM
Response to Original message
9. Someone in my women's studies class last year used Wikipedia.
I wasn't even allowed to use REAL encyclopedias as sources from grade school through high school. It was so ingrained in me that encyclopedias were not acceptable that I never even attempted to use them in college. I was absolutely appalled.
anigbrowl (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 03:19 PM
Response to Reply #9
18. I think you need to distinguish between 'used' and 'cited'
It's a fantastic resource and overall an extremely well-curated one. As long as you are aware of the difference between 'resource' and 'source', it's not a problem
The Allentown dude primitive, who's hot for Clare Boothe Luce:
AllentownJake (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:06 PM
Response to Original message
10. The internet has been both a boost and a menace for getting good information.
Of course I come from the last of students that had to use Microfiche. I can still remember the smell from the microfiche printing machine.
fauxnewsSUCKKKS (22 posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:35 PM
Response to Original message
12. isnt that where faux news gets their reports from?
Quantess (1000+ posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:39 PM
Response to Original message
13. It's a starting point, but if you're going to cite sources, then no, Wikipedia shouldn't be acceptable in and of itself as a source.
I assume he's in junior high or older? If he's in grade school, it's not so bad to do that.
BolivarianHero (847 posts) Tue Oct-27-09 02:57 PM
Response to Original message
17. Wikipedia isn't horrible...
I never cite it in my university papers, though I do use it as a base for doing more in-depth research. As long as you avoid controversial topics, it can be useful. It's the first place I look for election results, particularly in non-English countries.
If I were a teacher or a professor, I would not accept it in my students' papers, but I would be willing to work with students who used it as part of their preliminary research.
Now, franksolich is greatly confused.
franksolich went all the way through high school and college without ever being told the use of encyclopedias for references was not cool. Perhaps I was told, but being deaf, I didn't hear it.
I've never heard of this "rule."
In fact, my very first official term paper, in the 10th grade of high school, about the similarities between
Uncle Tom's Cabin and
Mad magazine, was written using, other than the book and the magazine themselves, exclusively quotes from encyclopedias.
Nobody ever told me, and I seemed to get good grades anyway.
