Go back to the beginning of the chapter and reread the At Issue box, which gives some background on the question of whether Wikipedia is a legitimate research source. As the following sources illustrate, this question suggests a variety of possible responses.

As you read the sources that follow, you will be asked to answer some questions and to complete some simple activities. This work will help you understand both the content and the structure of the sources. When you are finished, you will be ready to write a definition argument on the topic, “Is Wikipedia a Legitimate Research Source?”

SOURCES

Timothy Messer-Kruse, “The ‘Undue Weight’ of Truth on Wikipedia”

Michael Martinez, “Why Citations Do Not Make Wikipedia and Similar Sites Credible”

Kevin Morris, “After a Half-Decade, Massive Wikipedia Hoax Finally Exposed”

Alison Hudson, “Stop Wikipedia Shaming”

Andreas Kolbe, “Debunking the ‘Accurate as Britannica’ Myth”

Randall Stross, “Anonymous Source Is Not the Same as Open Source”

Wikipedia, “Wikipedia: About”; Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “About the IEP”

Neil Waters, “Wikiphobia: The Latest in Open Source”