encyclopedia
Let an agent explain encyclopedias and how to use and evaluate them, distinguish editorial from collaborative works, and support research and citation practice.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Use Finding information.
Find
Which encyclopedia.
Find
Choosing.
- Which encyclopedia suits this topic and audience? action
- Is a specialist work available? provenance
Research
Role in research.
Research
Research.
- How should an encyclopedia entry be used as a starting point for research? action
- Which primary sources does it cite? provenance
Evaluate Reliability.
Editorial
Editorial process.
Editorial
Editorial process.
- Who writes and reviews entries, and how are errors corrected? provenance
- How current is the entry? provenance
Wiki
Collaborative works.
Wiki
Collaborative works.
- How reliable is this wiki entry, based on sourcing, history and community standards? boundary
- Which policies govern it? provenance
Cite Citation.
Format
Citing entries.
Format
Citing.
- How should this encyclopedia entry be cited in the required style? action
- Should the version or access date be included? boundary
Appropriate
When to cite.
Appropriate
When to cite.
- Is citing an encyclopedia appropriate for this academic work? boundary
- Which sources should be cited instead? action
History Development.
Historical encyclopedias.
History.
- How did encyclopedias develop, from early compendia to the Encyclopedie and modern works? provenance
- Which are landmarks? provenance
Digital
Digital transition.
Digital
Digital transition.
- How did CD-ROM and online encyclopedias change the field? provenance
- How are wiki communities governed and hosted? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.MED
- Other names and narrower kinds
- CD-ROM encyclopedia, Fandom wiki, Liquipedia wiki, Vikidia edition, online encyclopedia, Fandom wiki moved to Miraheze, this wiki has been closed, archived Fandom wiki, Fantendo, The English fandom wiki at this URL has been closed, Fandom central wiki, Web Encyclopedia of Kyiv
What it is Filled
A reference work providing summaries of knowledge across all subjects or a particular field, arranged alphabetically or thematically, in print, on disc or online, from general encyclopedias and specialist works to collaborative wikis such as Wikipedia, Vikidia and fan wikis; encyclopedias are tertiary sources that summarise primary and secondary literature.
Why it exists Filled
Let an agent explain encyclopedias and how to use and evaluate them, distinguish editorial from collaborative works, and support research and citation practice.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Tertiary source
- Broad or specialist scope
- Editorial or collaborative
- Regularly revised
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Copy encyclopedia content in breach of its licence or without attribution.
- Invent entries or citations that do not exist.
- Insert false or promotional content into a collaborative encyclopedia.
- Present one encyclopedia's view as the only account of a disputed topic.
Only with a human decision
- Mass editing or bot edits on a collaborative encyclopedia.
May
- Cite encyclopedia entries with their title, edition and date.
- Summarize an entry accurately and state where it may be outdated or disputed.
Moral aspects Filled
- Encyclopedias shape what many people take as settled knowledge.
- Bias and gaps in coverage reflect and reinforce whose knowledge counts.
Who is affected
- Readers and students
- Editors and contributors
- People and groups written about
Owners Filled
Steward
The publisher or the community and foundation that maintains it.
Master systems
- Library catalogues
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1063801 - registry parent class
- Q13136 - registry parent class
- Q18168594 - registry parent class
- Q2217301 - registry parent class
- Q6423319 - registry parent class
related
- reference work - category
- tertiary source - category
- information science - field
- library - access
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.encyclopedia
- Wikidata: Q5292 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5292)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- Alphabetical or thematic articles
- Editorial or community authorship
- Dictionaries define words rather than summarise topics
- Multi-volume books, discs or websites with articles.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- find suitable encyclopedias for a topic
- evaluate reliability and editorial process
- cite encyclopedia entries correctly
- explain how collaborative encyclopedias work
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Treating encyclopedias as primary sources
- Vandalism and errors in open wikis
- Outdated print editions
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Citation style guides
- Editorial policies of encyclopedias
- Licensing such as Creative Commons for collaborative works
Context of use required Filled
- Summarising and accessing knowledge.
- general encyclopedias
- specialist encyclopedias
- collaborative online encyclopedias
- fan and community wikis
- historical encyclopedias
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q5292: encyclopedia - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Encyclopedia - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each major encyclopedia be a separate entry?
- How should reliability assessments be linked?
- How should wiki communities be described?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q5292/spec.json