WikiWikiWeb
Not so long ago I had a discussion with a friend of mine about Wikipedia. I explained that the beauty of a wiki is the fact that anyone can edit a page. My friend argued that a wiki could never be a credible resource, as it would surely be used to spread propaganda and whatnot. I disagreed, but the discussion was rather pointless given the lack of scientific research on the subject.
Thanks to Andrew Lih of the University of Hong Kong this issue has now had some light shed on it. Andrew's paper Wikipedia as Participatory Journalism: Reliable Sources? Metrics for evaluating collaborative media as a news resource looks into the mechanics governing the quality and credibility of wiki articles. It's a rather hefty read, but skimming the paper turned up a gem or two. I'd recommend it for all who wish to educate themselves on the issue of wiki information trustworthyness.
Via Blogdex.