A very good question.

We all use Wikipedia from time to time (even librarians!) and there are some pros to using it:

• It covers pretty much any subject and any person you can think of
• It contains over 5.5 million articles
• An average of 600 articles are added daily
• It's really useful to access definitions of terms that you can then use to further your research. Indeed, Discover@Bolton links its topic definitions for this very reason
• The fact that it is used by hundreds of millions of people every months means that it's possible to get a fairly good picture of the types of information people are looking for.

However, there are some real issues with Wikipedia that you need to be aware of:

• Anyone can add or edit an article. And they might not be right, either accidentally or deliberately!
• Something that you read one day might disappear overnight
• Unlike scholarly publications, there is no formal editorial board
• There is a high risk of bias

So, if you do end up reading a Wikipedia article, just consider the following:

• Use with caution! Don't assume 100 per cent accuracy or provenance
• Use it to help you identify keywords than you can apply during your search strategies
• See if you can establish the author as you would with any other web source
• See if there are good quality links and references attached to the articles

And remember, do not rely on Wikipedia as a source for research material, don't cite it and don't assume it always presents fact! Do ask the Academic Librarians for further guidance, take a look at LEAP Online for help to improve your skills at appraising web-based material.