Most likely, during your educational career, you've been told to avoid Wikipedia at all costs. I heard this stated as a hard-and-fast rule from 1st grade through my Freshman year of college.
Attitudes toward Wikipedia have shifted, especially in academic communities. While Wikipedia itself should not be used as a cited source in a research project, Wikipedia articles serve several useful functions when conducting research.
- Background Knowledge: If you know very little about a topic or person, or if you need a quick refresher, go to the Wikipedia page on the topic or person.
- Associated People/Locations/Topics: Through hyperlinks, Wikipedia offers a great starting point for creating a web of associations for the topic/person.
- Outline as Structure: Sometimes, the section headings of a Wikipedia entry can offer a starting point for the structure of your own work by providing categories about the topic/person on which you can focus. These categories might also help you narrow and focus your project's topic.
- References as Resources: Wikipedia articles contain citations of and hyperlinks to the resources consulted by the entry's author(s). Follow the links and read the sources. Then, use your own analysis of the sources, as well as the sources themselves, in your research project. Do not copy and paste, or paraphrase in your own words, the Wikipedia entry's explanation and analysis of the resources.
CALVIN T. RYAN LIBRARY