On Wiki-ing Well

Wikipedia is a wealth of information, but not all of it is accurate. You can use Wikipedia to get a basic understanding or overview of a topic, but you should not assume the information is factual without double-checking it against credible sources. 

It follows, then, that you should not cite Wikipedia as an expert source in technical papers. If you find an interesting fact on Wikipedia, and you want to cite it, go back to the original source listed in the Wikipedia bibliography (assuming that source is credible). If no source is provided, you can try to track the statement through Google or through our excellent library resources.

Filed under: References

References

The JA quick guide to references is posted under the “Blogroll” list at the right of the page. Now you can access it anytime, anywhere. Because I know you want to. 

Filed under: Citations, References

Some Notes About Citing Sources

We all learned in school that we should cite sources for information that isn’t “common knowledge.” But this is not as straightforward as it sounds. Dartmouth College’s Web site contains a good and useful discussion of when to cite.

And, of course, remember to cite your sources in an accepted format, such as U.S.G.S., Chicago Manual of Style, APA, etc. (use the JA format for technical reports).

Filed under: Citations, References