The document discusses Wikipedia and its reliability for academic settings. It provides details on what Wikipedia is as a user-editable online encyclopedia. While it has advantages like a huge database of information and community contributions, it also has disadvantages like potential inaccuracies and lack of verification of editors. Studies have found Wikipedia to be only slightly less reliable than Encyclopedia Britannica. The document concludes that Wikipedia can be used to introduce topics for education but generally not as a primary source due to accuracy concerns.

1. Wikipedia... and it’s reliability and validity for academic settings.

2. Wiki, what is it? A website which allows easy creation and editing of a bunch of interlinked web pages and information Allows for the community to add and edit content ‘Wiki’ means ‘quick’ in Hawaiian

3. And wikipedia? Wikipedia is the worlds largest encyclopedia Lets anyone in the world create an account and start adding/editing information Contains 4 main areas on the web site...

4. The 4 main areas Article - Where all the information on a topic is displayed Discussion - An area for debate and personal views on a topic History - Shows every change that has been made for the life of a topic Edit - This is where you go to add and edit information on a topic

5. What are the advantages of Wikipedia? Huge database of information Easily accessible for practically everyone Allows the community to contribute to the information Excellent introduction to a range of topics

6. What are the disadvantages of Wikipedia? The information may not be accurate There is no way of knowing who is submitting information, and if it is a creditable source It is prone to vandalism

7. How credible is Wikipedia? In 2006 ‘Nature’ journal study. Encyclopedia Britannica only slightly more reliable. Wiki averaged 4 errors per entry, Brit. averaged 3. Neutral point of view No original research

8. Use in education... Generally speaking, its not allowed to be used in higher education for accuracy reasons Despite this, it can still be used for education as an intro to a topic, and the citations are usually to credible sources

9. What if we did use it for education Teachers could be giving out incorrect information to student Students could be submitting work which is false or unconfirmed