Encyclopedias: Wikipedia & Britannica

Wikipedia from Wikipedia.org

Wikipedia. The well known web based encyclopedia
What is Wikipedia? Why people use Wikipedia? Wikipedia is a web based free encyclopedia and it is free and open for the web users. Every user is allowed to post, edit, add, delete, replace and rate on the entries and articles. There are about 13,000 volunteer contributors are expertise in the particular field to edit or add the submitted articles (BBC 2005). The released articles are providing in-depth information to the web users to read and understand better. According to Davidson (2006 p.39), inaccuracy, inconsistency, vandalism, uneven quality and unproven opinions are in the Wikipedia’s open policy. The policy of Wikipedia is perceiving lack of accountability and authority compared with other encyclopedias has been criticised.

Britannica from Google.com

Britannica. What is this?

Britannica encyclopedia is not a web based free encyclopedia and it is only given 7 days free trial and have to subscribe in order to view more articles. Britannica encyclopedia charged fees on the readers in order to prove and show accuracy of their articles. There are 162 factual errors and misleading statements for Wikipedia and 123 factual mistakes for Britannica encyclopedia (Lombardi 2006). According to Terdiman (2005), the average mistakes per article for Wikipedia is 3.86 and for Britannica is 2.92.This proves that if the readers want to gain accurate information, they need to pay some fees for it. Articles from Wikipedia are criticised by science reviewers that are confusing and poorly structured (Davidson 2006, p.39). Based on Walsh’s study (2006, p.31), the hyperlinks, navigation bars and menu buttons are to attract readers and maintain readers’ interest and also assist the readers. The hyperlinks and navigation bars will lead to another pathway. With all these navigation buttons, readers are able to search information easily and faster. The writing directions of both web encyclopedias are the same which is from left to right. The difference is only the service that they are offered. According to Kress and van Leeuwen (2006, p.201), the centre of Wikipedia is the most salience and this shows that centre is important and the first one that readers will spot. The left column on Wikipedia is polarized. There are hyperlinks on the left column in Wikipedia and Britannica and will link to another pathway which is similar with the article. The way of reading the words, images and hyperlinks for both web encyclopedias are similar to one another. In my opinion, both web encyclopedias provide same services but only difference is accuracy and mistakes. The pathway of reading the text of both encyclopedias is the same and they are in the same culture. To trust Wikipedia or Britannica? It depends on the readers’ interest and needs. For me, I will not use both due to unreliability and inconsistency compared to the encyclopedia books.


Reference Lists:
BBC 2005, “Wikipedia survives research test”, viewed on 8 June 2008 at <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm>

Davidson, A. 2006, Cyberlaw, “Wikipedia the online encyclopaedia”, Proctor, pp.39-40.

Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. 2006, Reading Images, “Chapter 6: The meaning of composition”, Routledge, New York, pp. 175-214.

Lombardi, C. 2006, “Belatedly, Britannica lambastes Wikipedia findings”, CNet News, viewed on 7 June 2008 at <http://news.cnet.com/Belatedly,-Britannica-lambastes-Wikipedia-findings/2100-1025_3-6053754.html?tag=item>

Terdiman, D. 2005, “Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica”, CNet News, viewed on 8 June 2008 at <http://news.cnet.com/Study-Wikipedia-as-accurate-as-Britannica/2100-1038_3-5997332.html?tag=item>

Walsh, M. 2006, Australian Journal of language and literacy, “The ‘textual shift’: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts”, Vol.29, No.1, pp.24-37.