Wikipedia, refined

Wikipedia is a platform for information that many people use for different benefits. Without researching, it’s hard for me to compare the ways that I use Wikipedia to the ways in which others do. What I have found with many people I know that use Wikipedia, is that it is used as a starting point when beginning research. What I like to do is find a Wikipedia page on a topic and read what’s there to get a general idea of what it is I want to know. I then use the “external links” sections to seek out more credible information (so to speak) and scholarly articles that I can cite on my topic. 

While Wikipedia is user uploaded and edited content, it is still monitored by a group of administrators. And when you think about it anything user uploaded on a topic can be taken from anywhere on the internet. So when the one article talked about how wiki entries were very similar to other online encyclopedias such as Brittanica, it could be suggested that the users are using Brittanica as a main source. So couldn't we deem Wikipedia a collection of sources, which could infact improve knowledge on a topic. Where one source lacks, another source will make up for it, creating a more refined source of information. If there is multiple sources being used and administrators editing and watching for inconsisitencies in information, isn't Wiipedia, in theory, a better source for information?