Using Wikipedia to Validate Sources
The text explains how to use Wikipedia's references to validate sources, using the example of Sojourner Truth's 'Ain't I a Woman?' speech to illustrate that the famous quote was not originally spoken by her.
THE IDEA
Using Wikipedia to Validate Sources
If you’re not supposed to cite Wikipedia, what should you cite? The simple answer is that you cite the sources that Wikipedia cites. Let’s walk through an example.
Your Speech and Rhetoric professor makes an offhanded remark about one of the most famous speeches in American history, Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” “You know,” she says, with a sly, myth-busting smile, “She actually never said those words.”
No way! You studied the speech in high school. You even remember seeing a video of actor Alfre Woodard performing a stirring rendition.[15]
You go to Wikipedia and scroll through the article on Sojourner Truth until you see a separate subsection for “Ain’t I a Woman.”
The first recorded version of the speech was published in an abolitionist newspaper in 1851 and included no instance of the question “Ain’t I a Woman?” It was a white abolitionist who rewrote Truth’s speech in the middle of the Civil War to conform to the speech patterns of southern Black women. Truth (née Isabella “Bell” Baumfree) was born into slavery in 1791 in upstate New York. She spoke Dutch until age nine.
How do we know this? That’s where Wikipedia’s policy of “no original research” comes in. That little number “32” directs us to the references, where we find this note:
- ^ Craig, Maxine Leeds. Ain’t I a Beauty Queen: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race, Oxford University Press USA, 2002, p. 7. ISBN 0-19-515262-X
Now, if you’re just trying to fact-check your professor, you can stop here. Really. Odds are that between her PhD and a book published by Oxford University Press (a very good press, by the way), there’s something to the claim. However, should you decide to go deeper—perhaps even write a paper about Sojourner Truth—you should take the next step. You’ll need to look up Maxine Leeds Craig’s book to verify that it says what Wikipedia says it does. (For quick ways to do this, see “Going Deeper: Quickly Validating a Reference from a Book”.)
When to use it
Fact-checking a historical speech quotation for an academic paper or presentation.
Verifying the accuracy of statistics or data cited in a news article by using Wikipedia's references.
Investigating the authenticity of a popular quote that a colleague or friend attributes to a famous person.
Checking the source of a claim made by a politician or public figure before sharing it on social media.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Validating the 'Ain't I a Woman?' Speech
A professor claims that Sojourner Truth never actually said 'Ain't I a Woman?' in her famous speech. Using Wikipedia, you find that the first recorded version in an 1851 newspaper does not contain that phrase. A footnote leads to a scholarly book published by Oxford University Press, confirming the claim. Following Wikipedia’s references lets you check the historical claim against its source.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
How can you use Wikipedia to verify a claim made by a person in authority, such as a professor or public figure?
What steps would you take to ensure a source cited in Wikipedia is reliable and accurately represented?
Why is it important to consult the original source material rather than relying solely on Wikipedia's summary?
References
- Ain't I a Beauty Queen: Black Women, Beauty, and the Politics of Race — Maxine Leeds Craig (2002)
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Verified How to Think Straight, Get Duped Less, and Make Better Decisions about What to Believe Online (Mike Caulfield, Sam Wineburg)