Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates i.

Survey of Wikipedia usage by Undergraduate college students

Erica Westbrook

EDIT 180

Professor Lu

November 17, 2008

Introduction
 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 1

The fluid nature of Wikipedia's content has led educators and others to question

the resource's accuracy. Still others believe that the site's dynamic nature makes it an

ideal teaching tool, allowing students to compare Wikipedia entries to those found in

standard references. (B.L, 2005)

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) started out like a wiki. Volunteers and readers

composed more than 400,000 definitions by submitting slips of paper with word usage

and quotations. Without wiki software it took from 1857 – 1928 to complete. Librarians

believe that if anyone can submit content, then the information is no accurate.(Harris,

2007)

According to Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams, the authors of Wikinomics,

Wikipedia is just another part of mass collaboration and open-source technology that

makes companies who use it in the 21st century so successful. If Wikinomics is part of a

powerhouse of mass collaboration which helps cultivate relationships divided by space

and time and bridge gaps between communications, what can the harm be?

The purpose of this paper is to explore the usage of Wikipedia amongst college

students. The study will ask questions to students to find out if they know what

Wikipedia is, if they use it, and if any of their professors banned it from use. This paper

will also share what educational critics have to say about each question.

Data collection procedures

My data was collected by the quantitative method. Data was collected from 10

undergraduate students at San Jose State University. The students were selected by email

and are Resident Assistants in San Jose State University Housing Services. I sent an

email to 20 students and heard back from 10 to do the study. The email was sent to the 10
 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 2

students who responded and received by the next day. The email I gave the 10 study

participants was a questionnaire asking the following questions:

1. Is Wikipedia your first choice when doing research on the Internet?

2. Is Wikipedia equivalent to the encyclopedia?

3. Do any of your teachers object to the usage of Wikipedia?

4. Do you view Wikipedia as a scholarly reference site?

Design of the study

The study will be using the descriptive research design which is one of the two

types of the quantitative methods as all of the information will be coming from a survey

from 10 students at San Jose State University. The descriptive study will be a case as it

will only report data on one subject which is Wikipedia and it’s usage among college

students.

Data

Figure 1 shows the graph of the data collected from 10 undergraduate students at

San Jose State University. The blue bar represents the question: Is Wikipedia your first

choice when doing research on the Internet? The red bar represents the question: Is
 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 3

Wikipedia equivalent to the encyclopedia? The yellow bar represents the question: Do

any of your teachers object to the usage of Wikipedia? The green bar represents the

question: Do you view Wikipedia as a scholarly reference site? The four questions asked

are yes or no questions. The graph shows which answers the students answered yes or no

to. In the data analysis section, more detailed information about each question will be

shown.

Analysis of the data

Question #1: Is Wikipedia your first choice when doing research on the Internet?

As you can see from figure 1.2, when 10 students from San Jose State University

were asked if their choice when doing research via the internet was Wikipedia, 10 out of

10 of students answered yes.

The Pew and Internet and American Life Project found that over 1/3 homes with

Internet in American use Wikipedia. With 50 percent of college graduates and 22 percent

of high school graduates use Wikipedia. Wikipedia is usually the first hit from google.

Wikipedia’s Sandra Ordonez has stated. (Harris, 2007)

Question #2: Is Wikipedia equivalent to the encyclopedia?

 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 4

As you can see from figure 1.3, when 10 students from San Jose State University

were asked if Wikipedia is equivalent to the encyclopedia 6 out of 10 of students

answered yes.

Question #3: Do any of your teachers object to the usage of Wikipedia?

As you can see from figure 1.4, when 10 students from San Jose State University

were asked if any of their teachers object to the usage of Wikipedia, 3 out of 10 said yes.

History students at Middlebury College will find a disclaimer on their syllabi

warning against the use of Wikipedia as a primary source of reference. Two years ago a

professor from State University of New York at Buffalo came up with a plan to insert
 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 5

false information into Wikipedia. After 3 hours, the mistakes were found and the

professor was impressed. Among academics, however, Wikipedia still receives mixed

reports. Some skeptics say “Wikipedia devalues the notion of expertise itself. Some

institutes that the reason that Wikipedia isn’t widely accepted in academia is because

College professors aren’t given first priority to write entries. (Read, 2006).

While some institutions object to the use of Wikipedia as a scholarly reference,

Davidson suggests that colleges such as Middlebury College should embrace new search

technologies as Wikipedia. Davidson thinks that higher education should support

student’s comfort with technology instead of running students away from it. (Davidson,

2007).

Question #4: Do you view Wikipedia as a scholarly reference site?

As you can see from figure 1.5, when 10 students from San Jose State University

were asked if they viewed Wikipedia as a scholarly reference site 8 out of 10 said yes.
 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 6

Wikipedia’s founder Jimmy Wales, says that he is trying to get the word out to

students to let them know that Wikipedia isn’t a valid source for serious research

projects. (Citing Wikipedia, 2006)

 Wikipedia usage by Undergraduates 7

References

B., L. (2005, October). Wary of Wikipedia. School Library Journal, 51(10), 30-30.

Retrieved November 01, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

CITING WIKIPEDIA. (2006, June 23). Chronicle of Higher Education, Retrieved

November 01, 2008, from Religion and Philosophy Collection database.

Davidson, C. (2007, March 23). We Can't Ignore the Influence of Digital Technologies.

Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(29), B20-B20. Retrieved November 01, 2008,

from Religion and Philosophy Collection database.

Harris, C. (2007, June). Can We Make Peace with Wikipedia?. School Library Journal,

53(6), 26-26. Retrieved November 01, 2008, from Academic Search Premier

database.

Ishizuka, K. (2004, November). The Wikipedia Wars. School Library Journal, 50(11),

24-25. Retrieved November 01, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.

Read, B. (2006, October 27). Can WIKIPEDIA Ever Make the Grade?. Chronicle of

Higher Education, 53(10), A31-A36. Retrieved November 01, 2008, from

Religion and Philosophy Collection database.

Read, B. (2007, February 16). Middlebury College History Department Limits Student'

Use of Wikipedia. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(24), A39-A39. Retrieved

November 01, 2008, from Religion and Philosophy Collection database.

Read, B. (2006, September). 'Wikimania' Participants Give the Online Encyclopedia

Mixed Reviews. Chronicle of Higher Education, 53(2), 65-65. Retrieved

November 01, 2008, from Religion and Philosophy Collection database.