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Differences Between Wikipedia and a Standard Reference Source
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| Wikipedia |
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Reference Source |
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1. Authority: Unknown, contributor could be one individual or crowd sourcing
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1. Authority: Known by author or by the publisher's provenance |
| 2. Bias/Objectivity: Difficult to Determine |
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2. Bias/Objectivity: Can be determined by reviewing the editorial and publishing guidelines of the source and the background of the article author
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3. Accurracy: Studies have shown Wikipedia to be generally accurrate but short of a published reference source
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3. Accurracy: Generally good but mistakes can be found in a standard reference works |
| 4. Contoversial topics: Wikipedia restricts editing |
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4. Controversial topics: Editorial policy is generally explicit |