Wikipedia Offers On-Line Research Help

A few years ago two men had a great idea. They decided to start an encyclopedia. An encyclopedia is a reference tool for doing research. In the past, encyclopedias were written by experts. They were usually only found in libraries. These two men decided that this encyclopedia would be different. It would be an on-line encyclopedia. And it would be an encyclopedia of shared knowledge. This means that anyone can write an article about a subject in Wikipedia. And anyone that disagrees with what is written could change or edit that information.

Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started Wikipedia in January 2001. It was an instant success. People from all over the world wrote articles about many different subjects. Today, Wikipedia has over two million articles. And many of these articles are in several different languages. It is one of the most popular Web sites in the world.

Wikipedia is a good place to look things up quickly. You might want to know the official rules of basketball. Perhaps you are interested in the life of Fredrick Douglas. Or you want to know how a doorbell works. Maybe you need a list of North American birds. Wikipedia will give you all that information and more. Recent world events are available on Wikipedia too.

Use it to start your research
Wikipedia is free. If you have access to the Internet then you can use it. But is this on-line encyclopedia reliable? And should you use it when doing research? And will your instructors allow you to cite it in your references?

If you have a research project or a paper to write, then Wikipedia is a good place to start your research. It can give you a general understanding of a subject. But be careful. Even Wikipedia cautions that students only use Wikipedia as a starting point. As with any research project, you should also use other books and articles to get a deeper understanding of your subject. And be sure to ask your instructors about Wikipedia. Many schools do not accept citations from Wikipedia. But some schools do suggest that Wikipedia be used as a research aid. Many articles in Wikipedia cite their sources. This can lead you to articles and books that can support your research.

So go on-line and check out Wikipedia. You can get answers, do research or even contribute something to an article. With an open-content encyclopedia like Wikipedia, everyone can be an expert.

The address for Wikipedia is www.wikipedia.org.

Sources: www.theatlantic.com, www.memoryarchive.org, www.wikipedia.org