Wikipedia Research Paper

The subject of my essay is the online encyclopedia. Online encyclopedia is not only just presenting the digital editions of traditional encyclopedia bust also every user of it could contribute materials.(Online encyclopedia) Among all online encyclopedias, Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia that allows its users to edit almost any article accessible, is usually considering as the represent of the highest level of online encyclopedia. (Wikipedia)The popularity and size of it are extremely amazing. Every month, More than 18 billion page views on average and nearly 500 million unique visitors make Wikipedia list on one of the most visited websites in the world (Anderson, Hitlin and Atkinson). 27 billion words in 40 million articles in 293 languages

These advantages include continuous updating, the enormous database and convenient access. Continuous updating is one of the main characteristics of online encyclopedia. Roughly 75 thousands volunteers each month edit articles on Wikipedia(Cohem). "New information to be added very quickly instead of taking years to be added to a traditional printed encyclopedia" (Chandler and Gregory 247 ). The continuous editing and adding articles make the Wikipedia include more information than any single encyclopedia. Due to the enormous number of articles, searching information on it can be faster than searching information in any traditional encyclopedia. Also, due to it is based on the internet, it can be accessed by mobile, laptop, and computer and so on; thus, people can find answers quickly by using Wikipedia on their devices wherever they have questions about something. Compared to the traditional printed encyclopedia which is usually too large and heavy to carry with, the convenience of online encyclopedia for people to obtain information is

Because every users can edit contents and structure directly(), the information on that may contain users' personal opinion and bias. "Its authors are anonymous and nearly impossible to track; therefore, they are virtually free liability for providing erroneous or even libelous information"(Seigenthaler). It is not like traditional encyclopedia such as the encyclopedia Britannica. The encyclopedia Britannica is widely regarded as the most scholarly of encyclopedia. The articles in it are aimed at educated adult readers, and were written by a staff of about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert contributors(Simonson). However, this question will be answered in my essay. Although the collaborative mortification makes the online encyclopedias seem lack of information accuracy, the actual accuracy is better than people think according to some studies. My essay will show that the collaborative modification is the key advantages for online encyclopedia to be popular and keep