The reliability of Wikipedia articles can be measured by the following criteria:
- Accuracy of information provided within articles
- Appropriateness of the images provided with the article
- Appropriateness of the style and focus of the articles
- Susceptibility to, and exclusion and removal of, false information
- Comprehensiveness, scope and coverage within articles and in the range of articles
- Identification of reputable third-party sources as citations
Stability of the articles
- Susceptibility to editorial and systemic bias
- Quality of writing
The first four of these have been the subjects of various studies of the project, while the presence of bias is strongly disputed on both sides, and the prevalence and quality of citations can be tested within Wikipedia.
Comparative studies
On October 24, 2005, British newspaper The Guardian published a story titled "Can you trust Wikipedia?" in which a panel of experts was asked to review seven entries related to their fields, giving each article reviewed a number designation out of ten points. Scores ranged from 0 to 8, but most received marks between 5 and 8. The most common criticisms were:
- Poor prose, or ease-of-reading issues (3 mentions)
- Omissions or inaccuracies, often small but including key omissions in some articles (3 mentions)
- Poor balance, with less important areas being given more attention and vice versa (1 mention)
The most common praises were:
- Factually sound and correct, no glaring inaccuracies (4 mentions)
- Much useful information, including well selected links, making it possible to "access much information quickly" (3 mentions)
- Anyone could edit the information, so it might not be 100% right all the time.
- People rely on sites such these so they don't bother with actualy learning anything.
- It gives you information about anything in a matter of minutes.
- Easy to find
- It's free
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