Ericka Menchen-Trevino

Occasional thoughts about research in political communication and technology & life as a Ph.D. candidate

research | teaching | blog

1. steph 09.26.05 / 1pm

   I don’t have any suggestions but I’m curious… there’s an implication that other (traditional, print) encyclopedia’s are somehow more reliable and I guess I’m wondering about the institutionalizing message of this. I agree with you that original sources are always preferred, but when one needs a secondary source to test understanding or expand the range of possible interpretations why hold Wikipedia in more doubt? I haven’t yet become a wikipedia contributor but I appreciate its collective representation of knowledge. Are the monitoring mechanisms what concern you?
2. Nick Jankowski 09.27.05 / 12am

   You may be interested in a personal story as to how conventional and reputable encyclopedias gather material for entries. Many years ago I worked as a writer for an international publisher that was preparing a new edition for the American market. We had, of course, a large array of materials for which the copyright was held by the publisher, and we could use these materials freely. In addition, and mainly, we consulted, compared and stole from other encyclopedias. Time constraits and article length were the main limitations imposed, both of which had a significant impact on the quality of the work. We were, in short, writing hacks eaking out a living in Rome at five cents a published word.

   I would expect the above work environment is similar to most encyclopedias, excepting the very largest and established operations. Some of these publish signed articles, but I expect this is mainly a marketing ploy rather than a guarantee for quality and accuracy.

   Consultation of original sources is commendable, but for some kinds of ‘facts’ (e.g., date of birth of Marx), this seems like an excessive requirement.

   As for referencing, I would expect that Wikipedia merits the same treatment given any other source, and I would recommend consultation of the APA Publication Manual for guidelines.

   Nick Jankowski
3. Michael Becker 03.09.06 / 9am

   I teach freshman writing at Montana State University in Bozeman, and I am looking at giving my students an assignment sequence where they critique the Wikipedia as a reliable source as well as look at its social implications. Any suggestions for readings?
4. Ericka 03.09.06 / 12pm

   This is quite a good article:

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia

   That sounds like an interesting assignment. That’s really the only thing that comes to the top of my mind, and the citations they use in that article. I’d just start there.

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