INFORUM 2011

Evaluation of the Reliability of Wikipedia

Author

Zsuzsanna Müller, University of Debrecen - Faculty of Informatics - Department of Library and Information Science, Hungary

Documents to download

• Full text

• Presentation

Abstract

Nowadays – because of the appearance of internet – the access to information has become easier, the sheer number of information sources has been increasing and therefore there are very few topics that we cannot find information about on the web. As a result of this users often look for advice to the internet, instead of conventional knowledge centres, like libraries, however the internet is full of dangers. As there is no control mechanism in the www there can be found more and more anonym texts which contain incomplete, incorrect or inexact information misleading users. To sum it up the reliability of online documents is often disputed. Librarians and information professionals have recognized the significance of these phenomena and were obliged to accept the new roles, trying to ensure the ways and means of evaluation in the field of information and information sources, which has meant, among others, compiling aids in order to make the evaluation process easier. Taking these changes into consideration the most significant aims of current study was to develop a general criteria system to make the judgement of reliability of online information sources easier and to create a specific system for Wikipedia evaluation. The choice is Wikipedia because of its popularity, its encyclopedic nature and the fact, that this information resource is being applied more and more in the field of education. This research is expected to help not only Wikipedia-users, but will also be a useful aid for both librarians and information professionals.

Author's professional CV

Education 2009 – Ph.D. studies, Doctoral School of Informatics, University of Debrecen 2003–2009 – MA degree in History and Library and Information Sciences, University of Debrecen Work experience 2009 – Ph. D. student, Department of Library and Information Science, University of Debrecen Teaching: Reference, European Union information sources 2009 – agent expert, Student Service Center, University of Debrecen Language English – complex intermediate language exam German – complex intermediate language exam Presentations: Hagyományos és online enciklopédiák és szótárak, különös tekintettel a szabad enciklopédiákra/Con­ventional and online encyclopedias with special reference to free encyclopedias (April 2009, Pécs) Könyvtárpedagógia a Debreceni Egyetemen – képzésként és képzésen kívül/Library pedagogy at the University of Debrecen – in and beyond training (October 2010, Kaposvár) Evaluating the reliability of Wikipedia as a source of information (BOBCATSSS2011 – February 2011, Szombathely) Publications Library pedagogy – in and beyond training / Könyvtárpedagógia – gyakorlatban és képzésként = Képzés és gyakorlat = Training & Practice, 2010. 8. Vol. 1. Issue Könyvtárpedagógia a Debreceni Egyetemen – képzésként és képzésen kívül/Library pedagogy at the University of Debrecen – in and beyond training (imprint)