A community-written and -edited encyclopedia isn’t the best choice for serious, scholarly research. But you simply can’t beat it for a quick overview of a topic.
As a fantasy writer, pinpoint accuracy is not my highest priority. As an example, I recently wondered what an upper-class gentleman would have worn in the mid-1800s. A book on 19th century fashions might have been the best source, but that would be overkill. I just needed a good, general idea of what my hypothetical lord’s suit might look like. And, boom, Wikipedia tells me about frock coats — and even has a few pictures. I still spent longer than necessary reading through the article’s text (history geek here), but I got the information I needed and thumbing through a physical book would have been far worse.
As long as you understand Wikipedia‘s weaknesses, it is an incomparable research tool for a writer.
