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Inventory System: Executive Summary

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Wikipedia: Why it is not a Credible and Valid Source of Information MGT/521 - Management
May 21, 2012

Abstract

There is increase in popularity and use of the Internet for research purposes by schools and students. Popular among the web-based information resource is the Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that uses wiki software for the creation and editing of contents on its site. The use of Wikipedia for research has increased over the years. It is the world 's acclaimed 6th most visited website ("Most Popular Websites on the Internet", 2012) . This status is not without its own challenges. The main one being that of credibility. An online encyclopedia that allows anyone to edit its entries to some, limits its …show more content…

90-92).

A major issue with Wikipedia is that of source authenticity. Since people are free to create contents from sources at their disposal, some articles may contain unverified and inconsistent information. Sources are not properly cited. Most materials do not meet the criteria of a good source among which are currency of information, impartiality, and evaluating credentials of authors.. This explains why contents are continually edited. Ray and Graeff (2008), historical scholarship is also characterized by possessive individualism. Good professional practice requires that ideas and words are attributed to specific historians. A historic work without owners and with multiple authors like Wikipedia, is thus almost unimaginable in our professional culture.

Using Wikipedia saves time owing to its versatility and large information base, some have argued. This is because contributors are more interested in flooding the site with information than painstakingly digging deep to ensure quality of contents. Topics in Wikipedia are sometimes treated superficially with the aim of transferring a general and simple understanding across to users. When such an article is cited in a professional research work, it automatically renders the work incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading.
Readers do not need to be scholars to read between the lines on Wikipedia. Content is not exactly expert knowledge, it is common knowledge. For example,

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