05-10-2009, 01:59 AM | #61 | |||
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Meanwhile, you could RIGHT NOW go write a printed academic publication and make drastic and erroneous errors and once it's in print that erroneous information could be cited FOREVER for academic papers. Quote:
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Despite the procedure concerns outlined above, Wikipedia is no more or less accurate than other general encyclopedias. So you're objecting to a procedural issue when the RESULT that Wikipedia offers is just as good. And surely it's the result that matters, since the reason you value a given procedure to begin with over another is a belief in its ability to generate good results. You later talk about using a printed encyclopedia to track down other references, which you can then cite. My proposition is that one can use Wikipedia to do the same, and get just as good results. Would you accept your students doing this? Last edited by sirbruce; 05-10-2009 at 02:11 AM. |
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05-10-2009, 02:04 AM | #62 |
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And printed sources contain inaccuracies and biases that last FOREVER. Oh sure, they may be corrected in other printed sources later, but both the student and the teacher have to know that.
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05-10-2009, 02:06 AM | #63 | |
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05-10-2009, 03:24 AM | #64 | |
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At least where I studied, Wikipedia was not considered a trustworthy source for academic papers. Our professors made that perfectly clear to us. Here I give you one example why. You say, as soon as someone wrongfully edits a Wikipedia entry, "a moment later, it would be corrected." That may be true for popular topics and entries. But it is most certainly not true for entries of lesser interest that receiver fewer hits by visitors. |
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05-10-2009, 04:09 AM | #65 |
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05-10-2009, 04:28 AM | #66 |
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More on the accuracy of Wikipedia:
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/11/8296.ars http://nowherenorth.wordpress.com/20...encyclopedias/ For what it's worth, I tell my students that they are entirely free to consult Wikipedia, Brittanica or any other general encyclopedia that they wish. However, I require references and citations that are as close to the primary source as possible. The result is that an unreferenced encyclopedia entry is not much use to them. If they find a useful Wikipedia article which has references, then they are expected to go to them and check them out. As far as possible, I would expect them to do the same with general textbooks too. Many people end up in careers far removed from their degree subjects. (This is especially try of Humanities degrees.) But I would hope that they learn scholarly skills such as the ability to analyse and weigh up sources. |
05-10-2009, 04:39 AM | #67 | |
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As a reminder, here is your claim: Despite the procedure concerns outlined above, Wikipedia is no more or less accurate than other general encyclopedias. Nothing in the Wikipedia article you referred to would validate your claim. What the article merely points out is that there is still plenty of controversy open for discussion. |
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05-10-2009, 04:49 AM | #68 |
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For the sake of this discussion, stick to the original topic and don't turn this into a personal nit-picking fight.
sirbruce, there was absolutely no reason to become personal ("that makes you a bad teacher", "weakness in critical thinking", etc.). For the records, thibaulthalpern initially merely said, "I teach at the college level and I tell my students that Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information for citing or quoting. Yes you could rely on it for some general information when you don't need a strong basis for research." It's everyone's right to share this belief and there is still plenty of controversy out there regarding the accuracy of Wikipedia that would warrant such a belief. |
05-10-2009, 04:59 AM | #69 |
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Is there any information about who will be compiling the first editions of the open-source textbooks?
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05-10-2009, 05:36 AM | #70 |
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wow, this is amazing news. who would have guessed 10yrs ago?
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05-10-2009, 05:55 AM | #71 | |
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05-10-2009, 05:59 AM | #72 |
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I'm not denying his right to believe it; I'm simply suggesting his belief has a poor foundation, one based on a procedural problem with how Wikipedia is compiled rather than on any objective measure of accuracy. It's not even that he believes it; it's the notion that he instills this at best unproven belief into his students as fact.
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05-10-2009, 06:04 AM | #73 |
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05-10-2009, 06:28 AM | #74 |
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05-10-2009, 06:34 AM | #75 | |
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So I think you should tell people to write "a lot of people do X" instead of "I do X" instead. |
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