- Science Citation Index had the most Wikipedia citations (764 articles), Social Science Citation Index was next (563 articles), and Arts & Humanities Citation Index had the least number of Wikipedia citations (224 articles). However, all three fields have been using more Wikipedia citations (see graph below)
- In academic journal publications, 503 journals (4.2%), 399 journals (4,5%), and 170 journals (3.4%) had at least one citation to Wikipedia in each of the three indexes, respectively. 
- Most Wikipedia citations were found in “high-impact journals” and in articles published by scholars from prestigious institutions. 

A study of citations to Wikipedia in scholarly publications data analysis

- Used the “Cited Reference Search” tool in WoS to look up “Wikipedia” in three different indexes from 2002 to 2015 – Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. (Among the 16.6 million peer-reviewed articles in all three indexes, 1,551 citations or 0.0099% of scholarly articles were found to have at least one reference to Wikipedia). 
- Used the “Analyze Results” tool to further determine the research topics and institutional affiliations of such publications. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

The use of Wikipedia citations in scholarly sources, specifically scholarly journal publications, has been continuously increasing. One of the main reasons research tends to cite Wikipedia is for purposes of background information and introduction.  

A study of citations to Wikipedia in scholarly publications

Tomaszewski, R., & MacDonald, K. I. (2016). A study of citations to Wikipedia in scholarly publications. Science & Technology Libraries, 35(3), 246-261. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0194262X.2016.1206052?casa_token=Qlt-f7gvINEAAAAA%3AMR-70hHTkDlX5TGB2lQCFD5YO9ZcbT7QjIrUC3oJSZQczch8HP8RhH7EK6K2ZrfoAIXM4OKXnXmcFQ. 

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