Today, with all the advancements in technology, our society is always looking for ways to make life more efficient for people. However, this common ambition of people apparently does not apply to the scientific/educational world. There appears to have been a recurring dispute in classes regarding the use of Wikipedia as a reference in research papers. Regardless of what most researchers think, the time has come for society to accept this new type of software as a credible source of information in our educational journey. Wikipedia should be accepted as a valid reference in the scientific world due to its overall popularity, growth, accuracy and potential to become the new face of research worldwide. Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger created Wikipedia in 2001 to give people the ability to either obtain or disseminate quick, understandable information on any topic, ranging from JRR Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth to the current conflict in Iraq. According to Capocci's study of Wikipedia's growth, the total number of Wikipedia articles has increased more than sixfold (around seven million in total) and the number of views per day has increased more than fivefold over the past five years, which makes it one of the fastest growing and largest countries. frequently visited websites on the Internet (para. 1). Agreeing with Meier, the fact that Wikipedia allows anyone to use its information without any fees or registration requirements made it the 6th most visited website in 2009 (1). Additionally, research conducted in the Zotero Report on Research Citations showed that the number of Wikipedia internal citations has doubled at least almost every year since 2002 (Spiro 1). With this in mind, citations for Wikipedia now outnumber those accepted...... middle of article...... 1-22. Print.Sanger, Larry M. “The Fate of Expertise after Wikipedia.” Episteme. 2009. Internet. March 27, 2010. .Spiro, Lisa. “Is Wikipedia becoming a respectable academic source? Digital scholarship in the humanities. Internet. March 31, 2010. Is Wikipedia becoming a respectable academic source />. "Wikipedia Changes Editing Policy - PCWorld." Reviews and news on technology products, software and downloads - PCWorld. Internet. March 30, 2010. wikipedia_changes_editing_policy.html>. "Wikipedia Survives Search Test". BBC NEWS | Front page of the news. Internet. March 31, 2010. .Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 2001. Web. March 29. 2010.