ABSTRACT
This chapter examines what counts as information as we trace the construction credibility in the encyclopedia through examining Wikipedia’s policy of verifiability, which governs the editors’ selection and engagement with secondary sources to create mainspace article content and the policy of Neutral Point of View (NPOV), which influences the use of sources and encourages balanced coverage of topics. While the majority of literature on Wikipedia, information literacy, and knowledge production has been conducted on student learning outcomes and experience, this body of research can also be read as controlled experiments on the experiential effects of engaging with Wikipedia as a knowledge community. What has been gleaned through research on student learning on Wikipedia can help shed light on the experience of Wikipedia, in general, particularly for those who decide to learn to edit and participate in the Wikipedia knowledge community.
