Can we cite Wikipedia?

[Muminah K]

I was just wondering if we could use Wikipedia as a reference because I know that in some courses they don’t consider Wikipedia to be reliable enough so they would say no.

[Simon]

It is far preferable to find a better source, such as a textbook or peer-reviewed paper. The problem with Wikipedia is that almost anyone can write or edit an entry and we don’t usually know anything about them. It is hard to trust a source when we do not know the author.

You will find me occasionally linking to Wikipedia in answers to forum posts. I only do that when I know the article is correct. I would generally not cite Wikipedia in a scientific paper or in my main teaching materials.

[Author]

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