5

Encyclopedias Exercise

 

 

Directions

 

If possible, work in small groups for this exercise (preferably groups of 2 or 3). Each group should submit one assignment with all names clearly at the top. Make sure your group thoroughly discusses your answers. Answer 5 of the following questions. Give the answer to each question, complete citations for the information found, and any other details about your search, e.g. where you looked unsuccessfully, problems you found with a source, etc. For some of these questions you may find the answer, or parts of the answer in a number of sources. Please note discrepancies between sources. Save time: look for each of these items as you examine a given source.

Members of the group presenting Encyclopedias in class do not need to complete this assignment.

Submit your answers via Blackboard. All members of a group should submit this assignment: if you do not submit an assignment, Blackboard will allow me to give you a grade, but not narrative feedback.

 

Questions

  1. Compare coverage in 2 of the “Big 4” encyclopedias (Encyclopedia Americana, New Encyclopedia Britannica, Collier’s Encyclopedia, and World Book Encyclopedia) on two topics of your choice (you might pick your pathfinder topics!). Try to locate material on a broad topic and a very specific one. You may want to have one of these be a controversial topic as well.

  2. Taking those same subjects, compare the information available in the electronic encyclopedias, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, New Book of Knowledge, and Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, or other sources.

  3. Look up your home town or city. (If you are from a town too small to have an entry in an encyclopedia, look up some appropriate governmental unit that does have an entry: the nearest big city, your home county, state, etc.) Which encyclopedia provides the “best” information? Why?

  4. How easy/difficult is it to find who wrote an article? What they do? If they are dead or alive? If they are active scholars/experts?

  5. How would you respond to the question: “How much does a male Indian elephant weigh?”

  6. How long is the Thames River? Check 3 sources.

  7. Compare the treatment of “Lasers “ in a general encyclopedia and the McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology.

  8. Given a particular library setting of your choice, if you could only have (or have access to) one of these encyclopedias, which one would it be? Why?

  9. Who were the parties involved in negotiations the terms of the Lousiana Purchase and how were its boundaries established?

  10. I just read Kristin Lavransdatter for which Sigrid Undset was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1928. Where was Undset’s born and what most influenced her writing?

  11. I’ve read that the Catholic Church has started discussions about making Pope John Paul II a saint. What is the formal process for canonization in the Catholic Church?

  12. I am interested in the dramatic works of Rodolfo Usigli; which of his plays were most successful and for what works was he most honored in Mexico?

  13. What year did Pele win his first World Cup, and which soccer team did Brazil beat to win it?

  14. Can you locate a description of events and political issues in Hungary during the Holocaust?

  15. What Supreme Court cases have dealt with the “separate but equal” principle?

Grading

 

5 points per question = 25 points total

Your answer to each question will be evaluated according to the following rubric. I will assign one point for each item, per question:

  1. You found the answer to the question.
  2. You found the answer in appropriate sources, and used more than one source.
  3. You discuss the details of the answer you found, including disambiguating any ambiguities in the question.
  4. You discuss the details of the sources you used: features, pros and cons, what the sources included and did not include, appropriate evaluation criteria, etc.
  5. You discuss the details of your searching process, for and within each source.