Research Guides: Wikipedia for Everyone: Students and researchers

Tips when using Wikipedia for college/academic research

Use Wikipedia to

do background reading
discover and explore related concepts
identify terms for keywords for use in searches in
- Google Scholar and the alternatives listed below
reviewing the references used for the article to locate secondary and primary sources
- if the link doesn't go to the source, the library can help
- try to trace the statement of interest back as far as you can, to the original source

CORE
The world’s largest collection of open access research papers
Dimensions
Dimensions is a dynamic linked research data platform that re-imagines the way research can be discovered, accessed and analyzed
Epistemonikos
Combines the best of Evidence-Based Health Care, information technologies and a network of experts to provide a unique tool for people making decisions concerning clinical or health-policy questions
The Lens
Lens serves global patent and scholarly knowledge as a public good to inform science and technology enabled problem solving
Microsoft Academic
Microsoft Academic is a free service to help the academic community find academic content, researchers, institutions, and activities
SRC Methods Library
Searchable bibliographic database on all aspects of review methodology
WVU Library Databases
More 360 research databases, covering all subject disciplines

Wikipedia and many encyclopedias can be useful for background reading
- Encyclopedias are tertiary sources (not routinely used as cited sources in academic research)
Locate content of interest in Wikipedia and follow links in the References section to find primary and secondary sources

When you locate a book or article in an encyclopedia article that you can't find online, use the library to get a copy.
If we don't already own the item, we will get it for you from another library free of charge.