From Wikipedia's article, "Researching with Wikipedia":
Wikipedia can be
a great tool for learning and researching information. However, as with
all reference works, not everything in Wikipedia is accurate,
comprehensive, or unbiased. Many of the general rules of thumb for
conducting research apply to Wikipedia, including:
- Always be wary of any one single source (in any medium — web, print,
television or radio), or of multiple works that derive from a single
source.
- Where articles have references to external sources (whether online
or not) read the references and check whether they really do support
what the article says.
- In most academic institutions, major references to Wikipedia, along
with most encyclopedias, are unacceptable for a research paper. Other
encyclopedias, such as Encyclopædia Britannica,
have notable authors working for them and may be cited as a secondary
source in most cases. For example, Cornell University has a guide on how to cite encyclopedias.
Read more here!