 | ||||||||||||
| Figure 1. Wikipedia Stub Entry: Equine Podiatry. Photo author: Kendra Hilsenteger. Retrieved from Flickr on March 23, 2012. |
Writing this
Wiki post has been an incredible experience! Before doing the exercise, I had
never fully realized the “behind-the-scenes” operation of Wikipedia. The actual
process of writing and posting the article requires adherence to a strict
format and method of citation; although this method is time consuming, it is
arguably a good way to ensure the congruent nature and quality of the articles.
I never realized how difficult it would be to write such an
article; I spent hours tweaking each sentence until I felt it was both concise
and descriptive. It was also challenging to sift through the mass of
information, find the most relevant and useful points of each article, and
ensure that the presented material was suitable for a general audience. I have
a much greater respect for professionals who consistently improve upon the Wiki
articles and take the time to ensure their correctness.
I also encountered many frustrations along the way. While many
individuals put a great deal of effort into properly researching and citing appropriate
sources, many others did not take the time to think through the articles, did
not cite any sources of information, or wrote verbatim what the other sources
had stated, rather than summarizing it in their own words. In encountering
this, I realized why Wikipedia is not considered a referenceable source of
information. It was further emphasized that literally ANYONE can add
information to Wikipedia, and not all Wiki contributors will be correct in
their presentation of the information. This pushes me to take the information
given on the site with a grain of salt, and to be sure to do my own research
with reputable sources.
I appreciate that Becky Bohlender made reference to
the fact that even the founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, stated that the site
is not intended for use as a core source of information. Rather, Wikipedia
provides users with a general understanding of a particular topic and gives
them a starting point upon which to build further research.
Be sure to check out my Wikipedia post on Equine Podiatry.
I read Kendra's wiki article and I think she did a great job presenting both sides of the argument of whether or not to put a shoe on a horse. She had numerous hyperlinks to other wiki articles. Kendra made sure to reference almost everything she wrote! I believe she gave this topic lots of credibility by referencing everything and providing readers an opportunity to look further into the subject by having hyperlinks. In her blog post Kendra addressed some of the biggest issues with using Wikipedia as a source of information in professional papers. I think Kendra presented her topic well and took an indepth look at what it takes to write a 'good' wiki article. Nice job Kendra!
ReplyDelete