Does Formal Authority Still Matter in the Age of Wisdom of Crowds?: Perceived Credibility, Peer and Professor Endorsement in Relation to College Students’ Wikipedia Use for Academic Purposes
This study explores whether or not formal authority stillmatters for college students using Wikipedia by examiningthe variables of individual perceived credibility, peerendorsement and professor endorsement in relation tostudents’ academic use of Wikipedia. A web survey wasused to collected data in fall 2011. A total of 142 studentsparticipated in the study, of which a total of 123 surveyswere useable for this study. The findings show that themore professors approved of Wikipedia, the more studentsused it for academic purposes. In addition, the morestudents perceived Wikipedia as credible, the more theyused it for academic purposes. The results indicate thatformal authority still influences students’ use of usergeneratedcontent (UGC) in their formal domain, academicwork. The results can be applicable to other UGC, whichcalls attention to educators’ active intervention toappropriate academic use of UGC. Professors’ guidelinesfor UGC would benefit students.
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