IMPORTANT: Do not cite Wikipedia for your academic work unless you have the explicit permission of your Professor/Instructor to do so.
Wikipedia is a wonderful resource for research, but that comes with a few very important caveats. Anyone can edit a Wikipedia page, you have no way of knowing if the Wikipedia entry you are reading came from someone who has actual knowledge on the subject.
Wikipedia can offer quick facts on an almost endless number of topics. However, it is absolutely crucial that you verify that information from another source (Pro-Tip, your friendly WSU librarians are experts at this and are always willing to help).
There are millions of articles on Wikipedia, unfortunately these articles are created and edited by only a handful of people. Steven Pruitt is the most prolific editor of Wikipedia contributing over 3 million edits (by far the most). Wikipedia would not exist without people like Pruitt, but his voice is disproportionally loud on a forum that is intended to be written/edited by everyone. A study from 2008 estimates that only 13% of Wikipedia contributors are women.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
As a student at Wichita State you are learning about the world around us everyday. No matter your major, you are becoming scholars in your own right and have a place editing Wikipedia. Wichita State's Convergence Sciences Initiative is aimed at using the knowledge of YOU (the student) to address the constant advances in technology that affect our society. Now more than ever, we need authoritative (and verifiable) information on the Internet.
Student in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences have a tremendous responsibility to be part of the Convergence Sciences Initiative. You may not be a computer programmer, engineer, or feel that you have enough technical skills to be part of editing Wikipedia, but this is absolutely not true. There are many resources to help guide you in the process: links are provided in this guide to get you started.
