Wikipedia - How it works

How does Wikipedia work? How are encyclopedia entries created, edited, and checked for inaccuracy, libel, and other problems?

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia (found at www.wikipedia.org) that is based on the internet and is/can be collaboratively contributed to and edited by any internet user; this process is also referred to as "participatory journalism" ("Wikipedia as Participatory Journalism: Reliable Sources? Metrics for evaluating collaborative media as a news resource"). Any user can theoretically add an article or change any of the vast number of articles already available on Wikipedia, with the restrictions that they have to agree with other users in the community and that they present material in a neutral way (although the system does not directly enforce any restrictions). This phenomenon has grown quickly: "As of 2005, Wikipedia consists of more than 2,5 million articles in over two hundred languages, with the English, German, French and Japanese editions being the biggest ones" ("Semantic Wikipedia"). Articles can be found using the search option located at the left side of the web page. Once an article is found, the used can change the information available by clicking on the "edit this page" link at the top of the article. Users must create a user account in order to create a new article, but already existing articles can be edited either with a user account or anonymously. Logging in ensures that the user's IP address will be recorded publicly in the page's edit history. There is also a discussion link so users can discuss the information in the article; a history link so users can see how many times the article has been edited, when, and by which user (IP address). To facilitate browsing, articles can be linked to one another using URL shortcuts attached to keywords that are titles of other, related articles. This also allows articles to be categorized and classified according to content matter. To make sure contributions are valid, Wikipedia requires that they are accompanied by published sources (citations); if they are not, the article has a disclaimer to let the reader know that the page lacks proper citations. There is also an assessment scale that articles are measures against, to determine their quality as a reliable source. For example, in order to attain top rank (called a "featured article"), the page must be supported by several peer-revied journals and publications, and must include extensive coverage of the topic ("Wikipedia"). If an article is not neutral, concern a notable topic, contain unoriginal research and/or verifiable content, then it is liable to modification or deletion by administrators. Administrators can also block users from future editing, and lock articles from being editied further, such as in the case of editorial disagreements.


I used Google because I wanted to find sources detailing the way Wikipedia works, and because I wanted to view them in order of popularity ranking of linking to ascertain their credibility.

Search terms used: "Wikipedia"

http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1140000/1135863/p585-volkel.pdf?key1=1135863&key2=2586487021&coll=GUIDE&dl=GUIDE&CFID=23672192&CFTOKEN=32727069
http://jmsc.hku.hk/faculty/alih/publications/utaustin-2004-wikipedia-rc2.pdf

The two sites above are scholarly journals concerning the use and applications of Wikipedia; they are credible because they are published and cite several sources. The journal articles reflect modern technology studies done by scholars at a University in Germany and Hong Kong, respectively. Their purpose was to discuss the technology of Wikipedia and its implications of use, and how they could be improved. The first article was written in or after 2005 (according to the cited sources), and the second article was written in 2004.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

I obtained the most information for how Wikipedia works using Wikipedia itself, ironically. The credibility for this site is contingent on the editing done by users, as outlined above. The articles cites a huge number of references, many of which are journal and newspaper publications regarding the content and use of Wikipedia. Wikipedia itself is a non-profit organization, and a free encyclopedia for all internet users.

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