User:Patriciaenrica/sandbox

Assignment 1 : Research Project
For this assignment I decided to choose an overall theme that was relevant to this time of year by choosing to use topics that related to Halloween and it's origins. The topics are:


 * Halloween
 * Samhain
 * Paganism

Wikipedia Article Topics
Below are the articles from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia:


 * Halloween


 * Samhain


 * Paganism

Encyclopædia Brittanica Topics
Below are the articles from Encyclopædia Brittanica Online:


 * Halloween


 * Samhain


 * Paganism

Search Process
My search process for this assignment was quite simple and quick. My primary search was for a theme that interested me and was also relevant which is why I chose the topics of Halloween, Samhain, and Paganism as they are all relating topics in terms of the history and origins of Halloween. I first searched for my Wikipedia articles through Google search engine and started by searching Halloween. From there I searched that particular page for other topics that related to Halloween and had it's own Wikipedia page. Once I found the topics I liked I cited them in MLA format and began my search for another online encyclopedia to use, eventually deciding on Encyclopædia Britannica Online. I made the same searches I did for the Wikipedia articles but I used Britannica's search directly rather than Google search. There were some differences I noticed between Wikipedia and Encyclopædia Britannica but nothing too severe. Firstly there overall outline and appearance of both encyclopaedias is very different and I find that Britannica is much more clean and professional looking. There is also several other interesting links to click that Wikipedia also has but, in my opinion, Britannica has set up better. In contrast Wikipedia usually has links that relate more to the topic where Britannica has more random links. With that being said I feel as though Wikipedia has much more information to read through and many more sources for external research. While reading through and trying to find topics to choose from I much preferred using Wikipedia over Britannica because I felt as though there was more to choose from and had better overall information.

Assignment 2: Research Project
For assignment two I chose to further discuss the Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica articles on Halloween.

Summary: Wikipedia
The "Wikipedia" article on Halloween discusses the history and social relevance of Halloween throughout its existence. The article describes the yearly celebration that is known as Halloween on October 31. The article focuses heavily on the history and origins of Halloween where all the present day traditions arose. It is categorized by etymology, history, symbols, and followed by several other smaller categories. The largest portions would be the historical influences such as Gaelic and Welsh, Christian and the spread to North America. The article also discuses religious observances within Christianity and several other religions.

Summary: Encyclopaedia Britannica
The “Encyclopaedia Britannica”(EB) article on Halloween gives a brief overview of the holiday and its origins and place in today’s society. It begins by discussing its origin in Sahmain, a Celtic festival of ancient Britain and Ireland. The article then goes into detail about the Christian origins of Halloween and the emergence of All Saints Day. The article then finishes by discussing the influence and emergence of Halloween in western society and how it functions in present day communities.

Comparison
To begin with, the content of the information on both articles definitely has some similarities and overall covers the same important and relevant information. The “Wikipedia” article goes into much more detail in comparison with the “EB” article and discusses several more topics relating to Halloween. I personally found that the “Wikipedia” article went above and beyond in their detailing of information and spared no amount of issues and concepts to be discussed. The “EB” article although it does discuss the origins of Halloween it only briefly discusses its present day relevance and never really discusses the concept of Halloween. Overall the “EB” article does a good job of quickly summarizing Halloween for individuals looking for a quick idea of what it is but the “Wikipedia” article does a much better job at covering all the areas related to the topic. There are no section headings for the “EB” article and is just separated into paragraphs while the “Wikipedia” article has several section headings and divides their article into organized sections which makes it much easier to read and find specific information. There are several relevant hyperlinks spread throughout both articles, which I found very helpful in finding further information about various articles relating to the topic in question.

References, Contributors, and Further Reading
The “Wikipedia” has several links to other related sources; several are other Wikipedia articles through hyperlinks as well as the sources included in their “Further Reading” section and “External Links” section. There are several books from academic sources and websites such as BBC, History Channel, Duke University, and several more. There have been several contributors on the Halloween page but no way to really tell the academic standing and expertise of the contributors. The contributors are anonymous and it is not required to use a formal name or give any kind of background academic information. The “EB” link has very limited external sources and does not include a bibliography or reference page. There are two links to other related articles on “EB” and six external links to various Halloween related websites. The most reliable of the six external sources would be from History.com, as the other sources are from websites I personally have never heard of. Their contributors are not specific to the Halloween article but are the overall contributors to the entire “EB” online site.

Assessment
Overall I think both the articles do a good job of covering the most important aspects of Halloween and give good explanations of what everything is and means. As stated previously, the “Wikipedia” article gives a much more comprehensive amount of information with several more topics covered relating to Halloween. The “EB” article does a good job of quickly summarizing the history of Halloween but fails to meet up to the level of information that “Wikipedia” offers. The “Wikipedia” article is semi protected according to the two lock symbols at the top right of the page. The first lock symbol states that the article has been semi-protected until November 3, 2013 due to vandalism. Although the date is passed the article still seems to be protected as the second lock symbol states that all unregistered and new users are subject to review when attempting to edit the article. The “Wikipedia” article gives an increasingly detailed *history section on Halloween while the *EB  article gives only a summary. The "EB" article has very limited sources and no *bibliography while the "Wikipedia" article has several external links and internal links to search through as well as several books and journal articles to *read.

Additional Sources
Bannatyne, Lesley Pratt, "Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History". New York: Facts on File, 1990. Print. Rogers, Nicholas, "Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night". USA: Oxford University Press, 2002. Print. Santino, Jack, "Halloween and Other Festivals of Death and Life". Tennessee: University of Tennessee Press, 1994. Print. Etizioni, Amitai, Bloom, Jared. "We Are What We Celebrate: Understanding Holidays and Rituals". New York: New York University Press, 2004. Print. Clark, Cindy Dell. 'Tricks of Festival: Children, Enculturation and American Halloween'. "Ethos" Vol. 33 No.2 (2005): 180-205. Print. Akin, Terri. 'Exploring the Origins of Halloween. "The Reading Teacher" Vol. 45, No.2 (1991): 164-166. Print. Brown, Jason. 'Halloween'. "Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art" No.27 (1996-1997), 189-196. Print. Best, Joel, Horiuchi, Gerald T. 'The Razor Blade in Apple: The Social Construction of Urban Legends'. "Social Problems" Vol. 32, No.5 (1985): 488-499. Print. Santino, Jack. 'Light up the Sky: Halloween Bonfires and Cultural Hegemony in Northern Ireland'. "Western Folklore" Vol.55, No.3 (1996): 213-231. Print. Santino, Jack. 'Halloween in American: Contemporary Customs and Performances'. "Western Folklore" Vol.42, No.1 (1983): 1-20. Print.