- results are cited. Also, it does a better job when discussing `factorización de polinomios' (polynomial factorisation). On the other hand, article 2 [Wikipedia] is way better written than article 1. It has the right encyclopaedic tone, including a very good introduction. Also, article 2 does the very important task of pointing to applications of the subject at hand." (Reviewer 1 – academic)
The following picks this up very clearly and reiterates the emphasis from many reviewers that for an encyclopaedia article to be 'well-written', crucially entails it being accessible to the kind of readership presumed to seek out online encyclopaedia articles:
- "This article [Britannica] is factually correct and gives some interesting historical background information on antibiotic resistance. The article is written in a style that is simple, and this article should be accessible to both specialist and non-specialist readers. The article avoids an excessive use of technical jargon, and instead focuses on 'real' world examples of antibiotic resistance. Good, logical structure." (Reviewer 2 – academic – Antibiotic Resistance)
The same reviewer, discussing the Wikipedia article on the same topic, in fact recognised that this provided richer content:
- "The second article [Wikipedia] provided much more detailed information on antibiotics and resistance, including very good citations to the scientific literature. However, the [...] article lacked organisation and structure." (Reviewer 2 – academic – Antibiotic Resistance)
Thus, values such as simplicity, accessibility, lack of jargon and good structure are very often emphasised alongside values more immediately associated with encyclopaedias, such as accuracy, comprehensiveness and currency of information. It seemed, generally, that the academics reviewing these articles were generally willing to accept certain deficiencies in online encyclopaedia articles, so long as they combined some degree of accuracy, currency and scope with an account that brought a subject to life for newcomers to an area. In that respect, substantial content was no substitute for the lack of an underlying dynamic or coherence in its account of the topic, which is clearly considered by these reviewers to be a problem with respect to each of the following articles:
- "It [Wikipedia] is a very shallow article [...] there are many terms used. I did not find any reference for, the only reference used is inappropriate [...] there is no biased info in the article, because there is no controversy in the article, it is just explanation of the medical terms [...] there is no coherence in the article because it is just stating terms and jumping from one term to another without any connection." (Reviewer 1 – academic – on Pharmacokinetics)
- "The second article [Britannica] is way too long; it is not good enough to warrant such a long piece." (Reviewer 2 – academic – on Memory)
In terms of articles judged as very poor, such as the two above, the factors that led to harsh judgments appeared to be common to all sources, and it is hard to locate anything specific to any encyclopaedia in such judgments. Strongly negative reviews of articles generally consisted of an accumulation of weak points in terms of accuracy, missing information,
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