|
Critical Comparisons, by Ellen Wolock, Ed.D.
This article is also available PDF
format, with illustrations.
Comparing the 2002
Encyclopedias
From pet care to world events, there's no better place to
quickly find information than a CD-ROM Encyclopedia.
Thousands of articles, along with photos, video, sounds,
maps and timelines instantly bring topics to life. For 2002,
you've got the "big four" to choose from: Britannica,
Encarta, Grolier and World Book, each with its own set of
strengths and weaknesses. Which one is best for you? Read on
to see how they stack up.
Which encyclopedia has the most information?
All four players are packed with facts, figures,
timelines, maps and special features. Britannica, for
instance, touts an amazing 85,000 articles, although getting
to the information isn't always easy. Encarta is next in
line in terms of sheer number, with a whopping 60,965
easily-accessed articles. Grolier provides 38,700 articles
on the CDs, also with adequate search features that
consistently pull up related content. World Book offers the
fewest number of articles (approximately 21,000), but its
searchability, ease of use and understandable articles make
up for the more limited breadth of content.
Which encyclopedia is easiest to use?
Each package is made up of two or three CDs. Some of
this year's encyclopedia models offer maximum install
options, helping to minimize disk swapping. Encarta is the
only encyclopedia that offers a complete install,
eliminating the need for the three CDs altogether.
Britannica lets you run the brains of the package without
the program disks, while World Book and Grolier both need a
CD in the drive. Note that we struggled to get World Book
connected to the Internet using a dial up modem and AOL, but
eventually succeeded. The other three encyclopedias hooked
up without a hitch.
Britannica, Grolier, World Book and Encarta have
easy-to-use search features, although each has both
strengths and weaknesses. World Book's searches are
generally relevant, yet it's easy to miss info if you use a
keyword search. We couldn't find "Small Pox," for example,
until we tried a topic search. This year's version of
Grolier is much better than last year's, taking you right
into the search features without potentially confusing
options. We also appreciated the rolodex-like menu that lets
children easily switch between Text, Media Gallery and
Related Articles. Searches bring up the closest matches in a
list, but do not automatically show the article (another
click is necessary)-- a minor weakness (Britannica also has
this problem). Encarta has excellent searchability and also
lets children easily access related media and articles.
Searches bring up vast quantities of matches, however, which
is both a plus and a minus when kids are doing the
searching. A search of "Native American Art," for example,
yields 120 relevant results. Britannica's searches, in
contrast, come up with too many unrelated options. A search
by "miniature horse" for example, brings up 2,858 articles,
although the bulk of these are unrelated. We never did find
specific info about the little horses.
Which encyclopedia uses the most multimedia?
All of these references claim to have thousands of
photographs and illustrations, and hundreds of sounds and
videos. Some use these features more creatively than others.
When kids search by the word "horse" in World Book, for
example, they immediately hear the hypnotic galloping of
horse hooves. Of the four encyclopedias, however, Encarta is
king of the hill in terms of number and use of photos,
videos and sounds, with Grolier at a close second. A search
in Encarta for "piano" comes up with over 60 clear music
samples, while a search in Grolier brings up 53. World Book
has 14 piano audio clips and Britannica just two.
Which encyclopedia works best with kids?
To help determine the age orientation of each
encyclopedia, we did several searches of the same topics and
compared reading levels. The first lines found when
searching by the word "gerbil" nicely illustrate the
differences (as shown below).
While reading levels vary within each encyclopedia, in
general, Grolier and Britannica are more technically written
than the others, making them best for teens and adults.
World Book offers the easiest to understand, kid-friendly
text (perfect for the elementary crowd) while Encarta is
somewhere in between (appropriate at any age level).
How do the encyclopedias use the Internet?
All of the packages have thousands of links to the web
and free monthly updates for one year. These are very easy
to use. After registering, usually just one or two clicks
get you linked or updated. Encarta also provides one year of
free access to Encarta Deluxe Online, a regularly updated
site with Encarta's contents plus additional articles.
Britannica and World Book charge for their subscriber-based
online component, while Grolier offers free web access to
Encyclopedia Americana and Book of Knowledge.
Which encyclopedia is the best buy?
The store prices we've found for each encyclopedia are
as follows: (Keep in mind that these vary depending on the
retailer.)
- World Book 2002 Deluxe --$19.99
- Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia -- $29.95
- Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2002 -- $44.95
- Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 -- $59.95
Logical Conclusions
Because of its reading level, child-friendly features
and price, World Book is our first choice for
elementary-aged students. If you don't mind spending nearly
$50, the well-designed, combination Encarta CD and Encarta
online are definitely worth the money. If you want to spend
a little less for your older student, we'd go with the
reasonably priced and comprehensive Grolier. To impress your
date with big words and complex sentences, there's always
Britannica. Something for everyone!
|
