Empirical research on Wikipedia citations investigates the bidirectional relationship between the open-access encyclopedia and scholarly literature. This field of study analyzes both how readers engage with academic citations within Wikipedia articles to verify information, and how frequently academic researchers cite Wikipedia as a source in peer-reviewed journals.

Empirical Research on Wikipedia Citations

Reader engagement with Wikipedia citations includes paying attention to and clicking cited references. Engagement can vary with characteristics of readers, articles, and references, so these factors should be examined when studying how Wikipedia connects readers with academic sources.

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

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Citations or references are used to identify the sources of the information found in Wikipedia. They help to improve Wikipedia's credibility and allow users to verify the information found and to further find information if needed. 

Citations of References on Wikipedia

Multiple studies have reported a correlation between the number of journal citations on Wikipedia and the number of citations in academic publications.

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