How to Use Wikipedia for Research

I know that some people out there are cringing at the title. Wikipedia is not the best resource for writers who are researching a subject in most cases. You never know what’s true and what’s false on that website. Even if the subject is well-known and seems to be correct, someone malicious could have posted incorrect information at the very second you checked the website. Wikipedia’s editors are usually pretty good at catching that kind of thing, but the fact remains, if you’re unlucky enough to visit the website right when the bad guy changed the information, you’ll see those wrong facts.

That doesn’t mean that Wikipedia should be blacklisted from the sites you visit…at least, not completely. Wikipedia is a great place to jump start your research, as long as you verify any information you find there. Let’s take a look at how to best use Wikipedia for research.

Here’s a basic screenshot I took for a random Wikipedia page (the entry on Microsoft’s CEO). The first thing you should do, if you know nothing about this person, is read the opening paragraph. You can also click the blue words to go to other Wikipedia pages that might be relevant (for example, “Microsoft Corporation”). Just don’t get lost clicking around the site and looking at interesting pages!

So let’s look at point #1. As you can see, the entry starts with the person’s full name. This is true for people, places, and things – it always starts with a “full” name, even though the entry’s title might be a shortened version or acronym. Yes, this could be wrong, but a quick c/p into Google will tell you right away if that really is his full name.

Moving on to points #2 and #3 – as you can see, some facts have little citations. Those are the good facts that you want to use as starting points. It means the information has been found elsewhere, and if you click on that little number, it will take you to a list of all of the citations, so you can see where the info is otherwise found. If, for example, the info came from the person’s autobiography, there’s a good chance that it is true! The list of citations may include web resources, which are more places you can go to find information. Stay away from facts listed as “citation needed,” such as is found at point #3.

Point #4 is a picture of the entry. Not every entry has a picture, but most of the images you’ll see on Wikipedia can be used as stock photography. By clicking on the picture, you can read the usage rights information. This is handy if you need images to go with your story – just make sure you cite your source correctly and double-check that the image can be freely used.

The image is part of point #5, what I like to call the summary box. Certain kinds of entries, like people, movies, and cities, have these boxes, which give you a little overview of the entry. I find it extremely useful, especially if I just need a quick overview of the topic. Of course, you still have to verify this information! At the bottom of the box (it’s off screen in my image), there will be an “official website” link, if one exists. That will usually take you to a very, very good website to verify information. At the bottom of the page, there will also be a list of web resources. Near the top of the list, you should see something called “official” or “homepage” that will take you directly to a valid resource for the subject.

Don’t discount the discussions (#6). This is where Wiki users and editors go to discuss things written in the entry. You can see possible mistakes or other issues here. As you’ll see at point #7, this page is highly debated; so much so that users tagged it as possibly being biased. That should be a clue right there that some of the info isn’t perfect.

Overall, I can’t say that Wikipedia is a site you should never use. You just have to do so responsibly. I also recommend making an account so that you can fix mistakes as you come across them. The more accurate the website is, the better it will be for us all.