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.

Quantifying Engagement with Citations on Wikipedia

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

Citations to Wikipedia in chemistry journals: A preliminary study

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.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

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Some studies have shown that reader engagement with citations in Wikipedia articles can vary due to several factors. It may be helpful to first determine what these factors are (i.e. who typically pays attention and clicks on these citations) before determining whether there is in fact a relationship between citations in Wikipedia and academic sources.

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