School of Information Systems
Faculty of Business and Law
A Deakin University knowledge management expert has warned academics, teachers and
students about continuing to use the Wikipedia as a credible information source.
Associate Professor Sharman Lichtenstein, from the University's School of Information
Systems, says the reliance by students on the Wikipedia for sourcing information and the
acceptance of the practice by teachers and academics were crowding out valuable
knowledge and creating a generation unable to find the best expert knowledge even if they
wanted to.
Professor Lichtenstein, along with Dr Craig Parker, is leading a team of researchers to
map out how the Wikipedia creates its articles. She said the Wikipedia presented unwary
users with a number of issues. These were presented to a conference earlier this year.*
"Information in a traditional encyclopaedia is developed by experts with recognised
credentials, experience and expertise in the field," she said.
"The anonymity of many of the editors and administrators of the Wikipedia also means
users are unable to establish the credibility or otherwise of the author."
Professor Lichtenstein said topics for the Wikipedia were selected for inclusion on the
basis of their so-called notability. "This method of topic selection is subjective and fosters
discrimination and elitism, the very things the Wikipedia is against," she said.
"The Wikipedia has created new and anonymous elite `editors' and administrators."
Professor Lichtenstein explained that the popularity of the Wikipedia reflected a growing
societal mistrust of traditional scientific research and experts, who are considered elites.
"Australians are notorious in their disrespect of academics, scholars and professionals, so-
called elites," she said. "Yet as I say to my students `if you had to have brain surgery would
you prefer as your surgeon someone who has been through medical school, trained,
operated and researched in the field, or someone who has learned how to do brain surgery
from the Wikipedia?"
*The Wikipedia Experts, Expertise and Ethical Challenges presented to the Australian Institute of Computer Ethics conference in February, 2008
