A brief review of studies of Wikipedia in peer-reviewed journals

Abstract

Since its establishment in 2001, Wikipedia, "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit" has become a cultural icon of the unlimited possibilities of the World Wide Web. Thus, it has become a serious subject of scholarly study to objectively and rigorously understand it as a phenomenon. This paper reviews studies of Wikipedia that have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Among the wealth of studies reviewed, major sub-streams of research covered include: how and why Wikipedia works; assessments of the reliability of its content; using it as a data source for various studies; and applications of Wikipedia in different domains of endeavour. © 2009 IEEE.