Difference Between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia with Proper Definition and Brief Explanation

Wikipedia vs encyclopedia

There are a number of differences between Wikipedia and the Encyclopedia, although both perform the same duty of distributing knowledge to people. Today’s children may not be familiar with encyclopedias due to a sea of ​​knowledge and information available on the internet for free. However, it has not been long when parents bought encyclopedias to help their children in their quest for knowledge. The world is full of encyclopedias; some of them pertain to a particular topic, while others run in volumes and are a trove of knowledge of many topics. With the advent of the internet, many websites tried to take on the mantle of encyclopedias, but none were largely successful other than Wikipedia, which is a site that prides itself on running without the help of any advertisements and providing up-to-date information. on anything under the sun. Let’s see how Wikipedia goes against an encyclopedia.

What is the encyclopedia?

Encyclopedia is a book or set of books that provide information on various topics. This can also be information on different aspects of the same topic. All this information is arranged in alphabetical order. When it comes to the world’s encyclopedias, the people who have listened the most is Britannica. The Encyclopedia Britannica, although compiled in 1911, is still regarded as definitive, authoritative, and unmatched in terms of the knowledge it imparts. Many of us who have been aware of the Encyclopedia Britannica remember the reverence in which it was carried out and the importance they have, even the teachers have joined the information it contains.

What is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a non-profit organization that relies entirely on the contributions of readers, as they are the creators of everything on the website. All information within Wikipedia is for everyone, and people are free to edit and post updated information on any web page on the site. This is enough to put doubts in the minds of readers as to the extent to which they can trust such information. However, Wikipedia tries to put an end to all these doubts by saying that there are editors who verify the information submitted and therefore the information is not incorrect at all.

However, there is no denying the facts that, in today’s world, where the Internet is the best medium for the dissemination of knowledge, to think that encyclopedias get the kind of readers that Wikipedia enjoys (2.5 billion page views per month) is ridiculous. . Also, the fact that Wikipedia is growing by the minute and that today it contains more than 4,733,235 articles (2015) on English Wikipedia is staggering. Plus, these articles contain much more than what Britannica has to offer readers. It is also a fact that Wikipedia is the easiest source to search for information on anything under the sun rather than trying to find that information in any other encyclopedia ..

What is the difference between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia?

• Wikipedia is a sea of ​​information that readers present in all parts of the world are contributing, and the content of the site is growing by the minute.

• Encyclopedias are literary works that are definitive and authoritative, that cannot be said about Wikipedia. Especially in the academic world, although encyclopedias are accepted as sources, Wikipedia is not accepted as a reliable source.

• Wikipedia is readily available to everyone, and anyone can edit and update the information, which is not possible in the case of encyclopedias.

• Although Britannica struggles to fight a readers’ battle with an online version and even Britannica CDs and DVDs are available apart from the regular print copy, it is a foregone conclusion that Wikipedia will emerge victorious.

• Wikipedia is free. That means, if you have an internet connection, you don’t have to pay to use Wikipedia. However, you have to pay to use an encyclopedia. To use one, you have to buy one. Even if you use a book from the library, the library has already paid to buy the book. In addition, the online versions also charge money for subscriptions.

• Wikipedia is found only as an Internet encyclopedia, while other encyclopedias are available as hard copies and Internet sources.