Wikipedia Works for Me

Whenever I start a research paper, Wikipedia is usually my starting point. I find that articles on Wikipedia give a good summary of a topic and often highlight not just the facts but conflicting viewpoints or criticism. Also, I frequently look at the links at the bottom of the article and go to them to read more in depth about the subject. Those sites, listed at the bottom, are usually from a more scholarly acceptable source.

One thing about Wikipedia that I find incredibility useful is the linking of the main article to other articles. When I don’t understand everything in the main article, I can often open a new tab and read about something else being referenced and begin to understand a more complete picture. It speeds up my research because my information is somewhat “one stop shopping”. If I’m reading a biography on a philosopher, I can quickly link to an article on his/her theory or style of philosophy and understand everything better. I could even click on the area where they grew up and then get better understanding of their surroundings. I find that Wikipedia enhances the whole research experience.

I will allow my students to use Wikipedia in their research, but I want to make sure that they understand the details of the website. I want them to realize that they only cite very basic information from the article, and I will push them to click the links at the bottom and grab more articles. I think I will require a set amount of resources from my students and limit the use of Wikipedia article in filling that quota. I think that would be a good balance and make sure students don’t rely on one resource.

As I mentioned above, I will allow students to uses only a set number of internet sites for their research. I will push for my students to still look at published/print material. I will need to make sure my students have a good understanding of how to go about citation for all their materials, and make sure to review plagiarism. I think research is one of more fun aspect of Social Studies, so I’d like to make the research process simple for my students. Once it is simplified, they can focus on learning.