Editorial: Consider the source

Monday, Feb. 26, 2007 | 7:15 a.m.

A Vermont history professor who found that a group of his students had made the same exam error on a relatively obscure bit of information has discovered that it was a reliance on Wikipedia, rather than a cheat-sheet, that the students had shared.

Wikipedia is the collaborative online encyclopedia that has information on everything from A to Z in 13 languages. However, Wikipedia's information is not always accurate, and, according to a recent story by The New York Times, Middlebury history students no longer may cite Wikipedia in research papers.

The Internet can offer a little of everything or a lot of nothing. For students, the Internet provides a vast store of information that their parents never could have imagined having at their fingertips.

Some information on Wikipedia, which allows anyone to add information within a few guidelines designed to improve accuracy, has been carefully researched. But it's hard to tell which entries have been adequately vetted. And that can be perilous as people are using this information everywhere from the classroom to the boardroom.

One of Wikipedia's founders told the Times that the site, like any encyclopedia, should be used as a starting point, rather than a sole source, for research. That's probably good advice for anyone - student or corporate executive - who seeks information from the Web.