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On Wikipedia, provenance is the origin of material that appears in articles. Provenance has been a controversial issue on Wikipedia from its inception. As Wikipedia has grown larger, published concerns about provenance have also grown. (See the external links below.) One of the more prominent critics has been Robert McHenry, former editor-in-chief of Encyclopædia Britannica, who suggested that Wikipedia is like a public restroom where what you find in a Wikipedia article is whatever the last user deposited.[need quotation to verify][This quote needs a citation]
Intellectual provenance has been a traditional concern of academia. Academics study the intellectual heritage of ideas, concepts, methods, theories, etc. Specifically, they are concerned with properly attributing work in their own field of study. So they question how this can be done for Wikipedia. For example, should academic credit be given for contributions to Wikipedia?
Provenance has at least two aspects: source and time. (See below.)