Wikis are becoming more and more prevalent in today's society. According to the ODLIS, a wiki is a web application that lets a variety of users contribute and edit information. The term "wiki" is a Hawaiian term meaning quick or informal.
Wikis allow for collaboration among individuals and stores the information in a central location. Wikis can be edited by anyone unless they are protected by a password. Wikipedia is perhaps the best known wiki in the world.
While Wikipedia often offers valuable information, there is some controversy about whether or not the information is reliable enough to use as a scholarly resource. I would not recommend using Wikipedia or citing Wikipedia in a paper because the information can be added and edited by anyone. There are arguments that all of this editing and updating only leaves the reliable information on Wikipedia. I'm not sure that is the case and I definitely would not use the site for a paper.
However, Wikipedia is now implementing a period of approval for each entry updated and/or edited. Changes will now go through "flagged revisions" and will be reviewed by an experienced volunteer Wikipedia editor before the public can see the change. This alteration in Wikipedia's set-up may give the website and information more respectability and ensure that the information is reliable and correct. I would still err on the side of caution and locate sources that have nothing to do with Wikipedia, though.
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