Web research reliability

Are wiki based encylopedias and other public information sources reliable sources for research? The short answer is sorta…Most educational institutions will not accept Wikipedia as a reliable source, but it is a very good starting point for research. The fact that most entries are verifiable by other resources will give you a good direction to start with. Yahoo Answers has a few good points of view on the topic

Wikipedia

Wikipedia explains its reliability as a result of attribution. Wikipedia explains it like this: “The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth—that is, whether readers are able to check that material added to Wikipedia has already been published by a reliable source, not whether we think it is true. Wikipedia is not the place to publish your own opinions, experiences, or arguments.”

Citizendium

If you like the ease of wikipedia but are worried about the reliability, try Citizendium wiki encylopedia. A stricter submission policy helps to increase the reliability level of information.