I'm not sure how prevalent this is here but there is a big debate going on in the United States about using Wikipedia for research. Andy Carvin at learning.now points out that Middlebury College officially disallows citations from Wikipedia. However:
A representative from Wikipedia didn’t exactly dispute the college’s new rules. “That’s a sensible policy,” said Wikipedia’s Sandra Ordonez “Wikipedia is the ideal place to start your research and get a global picture of a topic, however, it is not an authoritative source. In fact, we recommend that students check the facts they find in Wikipedia against other sources. Additionally, it is generally good research practice to cite an original source when writing a paper, or completing an exam. It’s usually not advisable, particularly at the university level, to cite an encyclopedia.”
Andy adds, "Middlebury is right to discourage students from citing Wikipedia as a source while not banning it outright, since it can serve as an excellent launching point for tracking down primary and secondary sources."
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater seems to be the message. How do you tackle the use of Wikipedia and other online resources?