Wikipedia:External peer review/Roanoke Times July 2005

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[edit] Roanoke Times

[edit] Findings

Three college professors were asked to evaluate articles in their areas of expertise.

  • "Virginia Tech geologist Bob Bodnar looked up the entry on the geologic time scale. 'I found the terminology and ages used to be quite accurate and consistent with the most recent data,' he said."
  • "Roanoke College political science professor Bill Hill looked up 19th century politician John Taylor of Caroline County, political philosopher Alexis De Tocqueville and the Federalist Papers. 'In each case, the program responded with information that was accurate and pertinent, if brief,' he wrote. 'I thought the coverage of De Tocqueville, however, was too superficial.'

    (Note: De Tocqueville's entry weighs in at 1,011 words, while Katie Holmes merits 1,893.) Hill said he would discourage his students from using it as a 'serious source,' but noted that he discourages the use of normal encyclopedias as well.

    A feature of the Wikipedia that Hill likes are the links to original sources. It's pretty handy when reading about De Tocqueville to be able to click a link and read the man's own words. But Hill also noted a link that led to a "very brief and shallow essay" about states' rights."

  • "Dave West, a retired Virginia Tech biology professor, looked up three biology-related sites. One was good, but two were bad.

    To the average person, the article about 19th century naturalist Fritz Muller would look very detailed and well-researched. But to West, who has written a biography of Muller, it was 'fraught with errors.'

    West listed more than half a dozen of these, including the wrong year of birth and a picture of Muller that's not actually Muller." [West helped to correct the errors.]