[WikiEN-l] [Wikipedia-l] Policies for students regarding use of Wikipedia?

[phoebe ayers]

All,

I received a message (below) from a librarian at a US high school who is
considering writing a policy for their students regarding the use of
Wikipedia in research papers. She asked for my input and whether I knew of
any similar policies in schools -- either middle and high schools or
colleges and universities. This:
http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v20/0080.html
is the kind of thing she's interested in  (this particular policy appears,
by the way, to be completely sensible -- the main flaws I found were they
missed the permanent link and citation features, and they called us "the
world's blog").

I pointed her towards
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Schools_FAQ
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_Wikipedia
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Researching_with_Wikipedia, and
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Academic_use

which seem to be en:'s documentation on the subject of academic use. But I'm
wondering if any of you:

* know of such policies at specific institutions (and if so if you can send
me a link)
* know of commentary on, or a list of, such policies (either from our lists
& sites or other places)
* have comments about such policies and what should go into them.
* if any of you are librarians or professors, if you have answers for the
last question about how WP is handled at reference desks and in classes.

Thanks!
phoebe (brassratgirl)

here's the message (with specific campus names taken out):

>I am the head librarian at a college prep high school in California. We are

>considering writing a school policy regarding the use of Wikipedia in
>academic research. I am gathering as much information as I can from
>universities because I would like our policy and instruction to reflect
what
>our students will be met with once they leave us.
>
>  Does the University of California have a policy about the use of
Wikipedia or do professors to
>set guidelines for its use?
>
>  In your opinion, based on your experience at various universities, are
students allowed to cite it in academic research papers?
>
>  Do professors address it at all and how is it handled at the reference
desk at university libraries.
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