The fluidity of electronic media, however, allows new possibilities for multiple methods of organization of the same content. The former method is today the more common, especially for general works. There have historically been two main methods of organizing printed encyclopedias: the alphabetical method (consisting of a number of separate articles, organized in alphabetical order) and organization by hierarchical categories. Some systematic method of organization is essential to making an encyclopedia usable for reference.Works vary in the breadth of material and the depth of discussion, depending on the target audience. Works of encyclopedic scope aim to convey the important accumulated knowledge for their subject domain, such as an encyclopedia of medicine, philosophy, or law.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.
#How was wikipedia able to outperform both encyclopedia britannica and microsoft encarta? how to#
General encyclopedias may contain guides on how to do a variety of things, as well as embedded dictionaries and gazetteers. Encyclopedias can be general, containing articles on topics in every field (the English-language Encyclopædia Britannica and German Brockhaus are well-known examples).Four major elements define an encyclopedia: its subject matter, its scope, its method of organization, and its method of production: