Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale

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Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale
Authors
Adam M. Wilson
Adam M. Wilson
Gene E. Likens
Publication date
2015
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0134454
Links
Original

Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale - scientific work related to Wikipedia quality published in 2015, written by Adam M. Wilson, Adam M. Wilson and Gene E. Likens.

Overview

Wikipedia has quickly become one of the most frequently accessed encyclopedic references, despite the ease with which content can be changed and the potential for ‘edit wars’ surrounding controversial topics. Little is known about how this potential for controversy affects the accuracy and stability of information on scientific topics, especially those with associated political controversy. Here authors present an analysis of the Wikipedia edit histories for seven scientific articles and show that topics authors consider politically but not scientifically “controversial” (such as evolution and global warming) experience more frequent edits with more words changed per day than pages authors consider “noncontroversial” (such as the standard model in physics or heliocentrism). For example, over the period authors analyzed, the global warming page was edited on average (geometric mean ±SD) 1.9±2.7 times resulting in 110.9±10.3 words changed per day, while the standard model in physics was only edited 0.2±1.4 times resulting in 9.4±5.0 words changed per day. The high rate of change observed in these pages makes it difficult for experts to monitor accuracy and contribute time-consuming corrections, to the possible detriment of scientific accuracy. As society turns to Wikipedia as a primary source of scientific information, it is vital authors read it critically and with the understanding that the content is dynamic and vulnerable to vandalism and other shenanigans.

Embed

Wikipedia Quality

Wilson, Adam M.; Wilson, Adam M.; Likens, Gene E.. (2015). "[[Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale]]". Public Library of Science. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134454.

English Wikipedia

{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Adam M. |last2=Wilson |first2=Adam M. |last3=Likens |first3=Gene E. |title=Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale |date=2015 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0134454 |url=https://wikipediaquality.com/wiki/Content_Volatility_of_Scientific_Topics_in_Wikipedia:_a_Cautionary_Tale |journal=Public Library of Science}}

HTML

Wilson, Adam M.; Wilson, Adam M.; Likens, Gene E.. (2015). &quot;<a href="https://wikipediaquality.com/wiki/Content_Volatility_of_Scientific_Topics_in_Wikipedia:_a_Cautionary_Tale">Content Volatility of Scientific Topics in Wikipedia: a Cautionary Tale</a>&quot;. Public Library of Science. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134454.