Brazzeal, B. (2011). Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, 67. http://www.istl.org/11-fall/refereed2.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews 

Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study

- Reviewed scholarly chemistry journals from 2005 to 2009 from 3 publishers: American Chemical Society (ACS), Elsevier, and Springer
- Articles that cited Wikipedia were then sorted into 4 categories – general scientific information (includes 2 subcategories – mathematical equations & numerical values of physical and chemical properties), general non-scientific information, further scientific information and further non-scientific information, and image credits

Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study method

While there is an increasing pattern of academic researchers citing Wikipedia in peer-reviewed chemistry journals, the underlying causes for this citation behavior have not been definitively determined.

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Empirical research on Wikipedia citations investigates the bidirectional relationship between the open-access encyclopedia and scholarly literature. This field of study analyzes both how readers engage with academic citations within Wikipedia articles to verify information, and how frequently academic researchers cite Wikipedia as a source in peer-reviewed journals.

Empirical Research on Wikipedia Citations

There appears to be a consensus among scholars that Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information, especially for purposes of research and academics. Despite this negative outlook on Wikipedia, Wikipedia articles are actually more credible compared to other commonly used encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia Britannica because of its more detailed references. Over time, as Wikipedia articles started having more references due to recent scholarly contribution, it has also become a more widely accepted and more credible source of information.

Bridging the gap between wikipedia and academia

Readers are more likely to interact with citations in shorter and lower quality Wikipedia articles because readers are more likely to seek additional sources when Wikipedia articles do not provide them with the information they are looking for. Similarly, Wikipedia articles that have more references and citations are considered higher quality. Hence readers are not as compelled to click on sources cited in search of more details when they are satisfied with what Wikipedia tells them.

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