Editing Encyclopedia (section)

==Characteristics==
{{original research|section|date=April 2022}}
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The modern encyclopedia evolved from the [[dictionary]] in the 18th century; this lineage can be seen in the alphabetical order of print encyclopedias.<ref>As explained by Richard Yeo, ''Encyclopaedic Visions: Scientific Dictionaries and Enlightenment Culture'' (Cambridge: University Press, 2001 {{ISBN|978-0-521-15292-1}}</ref> Historically, both encyclopedias and dictionaries have been compiled by well-educated, well-informed content [[expert]]s, but they are significantly different in structure. A dictionary is a linguistic work that primarily focuses on an alphabetical listing of [[words]] and their [[definitions]]. [[Synonym]]ous words and those related by the subject matter are to be found scattered around the dictionary, giving no obvious place for in-depth treatment. Thus, a dictionary typically provides limited [[information]], [[wikt:Analysis|analysis]] or background for the word defined. While it may offer a definition, it may leave the reader lacking in [[understanding]] the meaning, significance or limitations of a [[Term (language)|term]], and how the term relates to a broader field of knowledge.

To address those needs, an encyclopedia article is typically not limited to simple definitions, and is not limited to defining an individual word, but provides a more extensive meaning for a ''subject or [[list of academic disciplines|discipline]]''. In addition to defining and listing synonymous terms for the topic, the article can treat the topic's more extensive meaning in more depth and convey the most relevant accumulated knowledge on that subject. An encyclopedia article also often includes many [[map]]s and [[illustration]]s, as well as [[bibliography]] and [[statistics]].<ref name="humanities" /> An encyclopedia is, theoretically, not written to convince, although one of its goals is indeed to convince its reader of its veracity.

In addition, sometimes books or reading lists are compiled from a compendium of articles (either wholly or partially taken) from a specific encyclopedia.

=== Four major elements ===

Four major elements define an encyclopedia: its subject matter, its scope, its method of organization, and its method of production:

# Encyclopedias can be general, containing articles on topics in every field (the English-language ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' and German ''[[Brockhaus Enzyklopädie|Brockhaus]]'' are well-known examples).<ref name="what" /> General encyclopedias may contain guides on how to do a variety of things, as well as embedded dictionaries and [[gazetteer]]s.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}} There are also encyclopedias that cover a wide variety of topics from a particular cultural, ethnic, or national perspective, such as the ''[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]'' or ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]''.
# Works of encyclopedic scope aim to convey the important accumulated knowledge for their subject domain, such as an encyclopedia of [[medicine]], [[philosophy]] or [[law]]. Works vary in the breadth of material and the depth of discussion, depending on the [[target audience]].
# Some systematic methods of organization are essential to making an encyclopedia usable for reference. There have historically been two main methods of organizing printed encyclopedias: the [[alphabetical order|alphabetical]] method (consisting of several separate articles, organized in alphabetical order) and organization by [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] categories.<ref name="webster" /> The former method is today the more common, especially for general works. The fluidity of [[electronic media]], however, allows new possibilities for multiple methods of organization of the same content. Further, electronic media offer new capabilities for search, [[Subject indexing|indexing]] and [[cross reference]]. The [[epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] from [[Horace]] on the title page of the 18th century ''Encyclopédie'' suggests the importance of the structure of an encyclopedia: "What grace may be added to commonplace matters by the power of order and connection."
# As modern multimedia and the information age have evolved, new methods have emerged for the collection, verification, summation, and presentation of information of all kinds. Projects such as [[Everything2]], [[Encarta]], [[h2g2]], and [[Wikipedia]] are examples of new forms of the encyclopedia as [[information retrieval]] becomes simpler. The method of production for an encyclopedia historically has been supported in both for-profit and non-profit contexts; such was the case of the ''[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]'' mentioned above which was entirely state-sponsored, while the ''Britannica'' was supported as a for-profit institution.

=== Encyclopedic dictionaries ===

Some works entitled "dictionaries" are similar to encyclopedias, especially those concerned with a particular field (such as the ''[[Dictionary of the Middle Ages]]'', the ''[[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]]'', and ''[[Black's Law Dictionary]]''). The ''[[Macquarie Dictionary]],'' Australia's national dictionary, became an [[encyclopedic dictionary]] after its first edition in recognition of the use of proper nouns in common communication, and the words derived from such proper nouns.

=== Differences between encyclopedias and dictionaries ===

There are some broad differences between encyclopedias and dictionaries. Most noticeably, encyclopedia articles are longer, fuller and more thorough than entries in most general-purpose dictionaries.<ref name="DOLencyclopedia" /><ref name="DOLencyclopedicdefinition" /> There are differences in content as well. Generally speaking, dictionaries provide [[linguistics|linguistic]] information about words themselves, while encyclopedias focus more on the things for which those words stand.<ref name="bejoint" /><ref name="EB" /><ref name="DOLei" /><ref name="OHEL22" /> Thus, while dictionary entries are inextricably fixed to the word described, encyclopedia articles can be given a different entry name. As such, dictionary entries are not fully translatable into other languages, but encyclopedia articles can be.<ref name="bejoint" />

In practice, however, the distinction is not concrete, as there is no clear-cut difference between factual, "encyclopedic" information and linguistic information such as appear in dictionaries.<ref name="DOLei" /><ref name="DOLencyclopedicdefinition">{{cite book |last1=Hartmann |first1=R. R. K. |last2=James |first2=Gregory |year=1998 |title=Dictionary of Lexicography |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-14143-7 |pages=48–49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=49NZ12icE-QC&q=%22encyclopedic%20dictionary%22%2Bencyclopedia&pg=PA49 |access-date=July 27, 2010 |quote=Usually these two aspects overlap – encyclopedic information being difficult to distinguish from linguistic information – and dictionaries attempt to capture both in the explanation of a meaning{{nbsp}}... |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114034551/https://books.google.com/books?id=49NZ12icE-QC&q=%22encyclopedic%20dictionary%22%2Bencyclopedia&pg=PA49 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bejoint31">{{cite book |last=Béjoint |first=Henri |year=2000 |title=Modern Lexicography |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-829951-6 |page=31 |quote=The two types, as we have seen, are not easily differentiated; encyclopedias contain information that is also to be found in dictionaries, and vice versa.}}</ref> Thus encyclopedias may contain material that is also found in dictionaries, and vice versa.<ref name="Bejoint31" /> In particular, dictionary entries often contain factual information about the thing named by the word.<ref name="DOLencyclopedicdefinition" /><ref name="Bejoint31" />