WIKIPEDIA

Wikipedia can be a very reliable and unreliable source depending on the article you read. When researching topics that I am familiar with, this is what I had to report.

"Simsbury, CT"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simsbury

Simsbury is my hometown in the United States. I decided to research that first because, living their my entire life, I know much about. Most of what the article had to say about the history seemed fairly accurate. All the information about its settlement is true for the most part, but some of the details listed have been debated on whether they are entirely true. For instance it reports that the original settlers left because of all the surrounding Native Americans, and that when they returned the entire city had been burned down to the ground. When they came back, they apparently could not find the exact location because there were no more landmarks. From my understanding of Simsbury's history, it seems that this has been debated. However much of the facts that the articles give are directly cited from census and official goverment information. In addition, while it gave much information it left some things out that I could contribute. For instance under "Annual Events" it lists a few but I can think of more annual fests that are not included. However, overall it is a very accurate article with only a few possible faults.

"The Beatles"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_beatles

I chose to research my second topic on the band The Beatles because they are one of my all time favorite bands. This article seemed extremely accurate. It is no surprise because, a topic that is so widespread and popular as The Beatles is bound to be under a lot of scrutiny and checked for accuracy. I think when it comes to less popular or less known topics is when there are bound to be more errors. Everything about this article seemed accurate as far as I could tell, from the band's history, studio recordings, influences, controversies, etc. There were solid facts to back the article and even direct quotes from band memebers themselves. I personally could not think of anything to change about this article and I believe it to be accurate as well as interesting.