Socially and culturally, Wikipedia is a very interesting thing. Can it be helpful in the preparation of an assignment as part of the research and reading done?
The advice I tend to give is that Wikipedia is something it is OK to start with, but you must be sure not to finish there - more reading and research will be required.
Some Wikipedia entries are very short or haven't been updated recently. Others contain bias or significant omissions or unsupported opinion or conjecture. Generally though, the most useful part is the list of references and sources of information at the end of the entry - indicating where the information came from. Reading through that list is a good way to get the research-ball moving.
Should you include Wikipedia in your list of references? Well now, Wikipedia as one of 5 websites in your reference list looks very poor, but the same entry alongside a couple of dozen references with a mix of other websites, journal articles, market intelligence reports and printed books doesn't have the same negative impact or a reader trying to evaluate the quality and quantity of your research.
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