Abstract:
Wikipedia is known as a convenient source of user generated information for a wide
range of topics, but is it able to compete in quality with a print encyclopedia? In
this paper, I formulate a theoretical framework to investigate this topic. I begin with
a two-step sequential case for both Wikipedia and print encyclopedia, in which I
find that the quality of Wikipedia is generally slightly lower than that of a print
encyclopedia. In an extension to an n-person case, I find that the quality of Wikipedia
can rise higher than that of print encyclopedia. After taking into account the generally
lower costs of contribution for Wikipedia, this small difference will be eliminated.
