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

There is an increasing pattern of citing Wikipedia in scholarly scientific journals, however the cause for that was not determined

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

- "Bridging the gap between wikipedia and academia"
- "Quantifying Engagement with Citations on Wikipedia"
- "Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study"

Studies on scholarly use of 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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