February 1, 2007
A History Department Limits Use of Wikipedia
“Wikipedia is very seductive: We all are sort of enamored of the convenience and speed of the Web,” says Don J. Wyatt, the chairman of Middlebury College’s history department. “From the standpoint of access, it’s a marvelous thing. But from the standpoint of maintaining quality, it’s much less so.”
This spring every professor in Mr. Wyatt’s department will put disclaimers on their syllabi warning students that, while Wikipedia is fine for some background research, it is not to be used as a primary source. Many professors across the country have already taken it upon themselves to post similar caveats on their syllabi or course Web sites. But few academic departments have managed to agree on all-purpose policy statements like Middlebury’s.
The Chronicle spoke with Mr. Wyatt about what the new policy means for students and what it augurs for Wikipedia.
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I am an administrator on the Wikipedia project, though I’m writing this in a personal capacity.
I’m writing in to say that I encourage this move. Wikipedia itself recommends that it should be the first point of call for information, not the last!
All those students who use it for papers, please be aware that it has NEVER been a good idea to cite an encyclopedia for most academic papers.
— Ta bu shi da yu Feb 2, 03:02 AM #
I have lost count of the times I have told this to my students. Maybe I should add it to my syllabi as well.
— MR Feb 5, 01:32 AM #