Wikipedia represents a revolution in the way knowledge is communicated and a potential threat to traditional encyclopedias. Wikipedia is widely used as a reference in academic assignments. Unfortunately, for the neophyte, it may be hard to assess the completeness and the accuracy of a contribution to Wikipedia. In this article, we describe an assignment to show students how to read a Wikipedia scientific article critically and how to correct it appropriately, if necessary. The assignment has proven to be beneficial to the students while demonstrating how to analyze, understand, and write a contribution to Wikipedia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.