Readings about Research(ing)
43 Wikipedia Is Good for You!?
James P. Purdy
In his essay from Writing Spaces, “Wikipedia Is Good for You!?” James P. Purdy addresses multiple ways that Wikipedia can inform your research process. Of course, like all tools, Wikipedia is not useful in all contexts, but it can be a great starting place for research, and it can spur effective writing habits that you might choose to transfer to other classes and situations.
Read James P. Purdy’s “Wikipedia Is Good for You!?”
Keywords from this chapter in Writing Spaces
Wikipedia, research, source, process
Author Bio
Dr. Jim Purdy is an Associate Professor of English/Writing Studies and Director of the University Writing Center. He received his doctorate in English with a specialization in writing studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research and teaching interests include composition and writing center theory, digital humanities, digital writing and research practices and spaces, expertise, intellectual property, and Wikipedia. His research studies ways in which digital technologies shape and are shaped by the research and writing practices of scholars, from first-year college students to professional academics (duq.edu).
primary - information that has not yet been critiqued, interpreted or analyzed by a second (or third, etc) party; information gathered through first-hand or personal experience or study
secondary - information gathered from another source or that has been interpreted or analyzed by someone else
primary - texts that arise directly from a particular event or time period; any content that comes out of direct involvement with an event or a research study
secondary - sources that summarize, interpret, critique, analyze, or offer commentary on primary sources; in a secondary source, an author’s subject is not necessarily something that he/she/they directly experienced
