rohitj - 4:51 pm on Jun 29, 2006 (gmt 0)

First of all, when doing research you must always check multiple sources. This is something librarians teach middle schoolers when they start learning how to do research, especially with the internet.

Second of all, one of the brilliant things about wikipedia is it isn't subject to the same restraints as encyclopedias published by major corporations. Encyclopedias undergo editorial process which can often taint certain things or word things in a manner that may be misleading in order to insure the publisher isn't stepping on the feet of partners, parent companies, subsidaries, etc.,

And while there are loads of terrible articles, there are plenty which are very exhaustive. And, at the bottom of good articles, you'll see the author has cited sources where the information has been acquired from. So when in doubt, you could check out primary sources (or work your way up to it via authority sites).