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Assignment 1-Research Report on Wikipedia Comparison

=Assignment 1-Research Report on Wikipedia Comparison=

The 3 topics I wish to research are the following: First, I'd like to look into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Orlando(theme park). I was fortunate enough to visit the park this past April and would like to know more about the park and its upcoming expansion. Second topic would be J.K. Rowling. As Harry Potter is my all-time favourite book series, I would like to explore the life of the author of the books. The third topic would be Jane Austen. I would have to say that Austen is my all-time favourite author so I would like to explore this as well as I have read a couple of biographies on her already. For each of the topics, for the most part (unless specified), I will be comparing the Wikipedia articles versus the Britannica online articles as these were the recommended online encyclopedia's discussed in class and the more well-known ones.

Research Progress
Jane Austen has been the easiest to research because she is more established and been around longer than the other two topics I have chosen. Thus the Jane articles in both Wikipedia and Britannica tended to be longer and more thorough. As such,the sources are varied and numerous. However, I have noticed that the Wikipedia pages have a more substantial amount of information. The Britannica seems to be more abridged. Perhaps this is due to the fact that Wikipedia has many writers working on each item versus Britannica which seems to only highlight the major points. For myself, I would prefer the Wikipedia page for the basic information and use the collected references and different websites devoted to Jane Austen as a starting point for a research project.

With J.K. Rowling and especially finding encyclopedic entries for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter it has been a bit harder because it is more new. As Rowling made her name in the 1990's it is a little easier to get information on the author as there have been books and articles written about Rowling (see reference section in Wikipedia page). 5 On Encyclopedia.com, it is general information about the author and not much references to refer to. As for Britannica it is even more brief, essentially a blurb, and not at all useful if one wanted to get more information on Rowling. Like with Jane Austen, the Wikipedia page for J.K. Rowling wins for most informative and added features of works and many references plus links to websites.

I was able to to find an article for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Universal Orlando Resort) on the regular Wikipedia page. This again is a great starting point to understand what the park has to offer. When I looked it up on Google I was able to find the Wiki page for Harry Potter and within that found more information on the Wizarding World. This Wiki page lists in bullet form what can be found at the park and is useful for a quick understanding of what can be found there. As with the other 2 articls, the references for this page is quite impressive. As for another encyclopedic source (unrelated to Wikipedia), I have yet to find one. But am still looking, as the online Britannica and Encyclopedia.com do not contain an article for The Wizarding World.

Websites
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Wizarding World of Harry Potter

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Wiki page

=Assignment 2: Wikipedia Comparison: Topic: JK Rowling=

Wikipedia Summary of JK Rowling
The Wikipedia article for JK Rowling is quite extensive information on the Harry Potter author. Not only does it cover her rise in popularity and the well-known history of how the books came to be, it also covers her personal life and the importance of charity work. The article begins with an explanation of the author's name choice. Editors felt that since the books were geared toward boys that Rowling should use her initials JK (for Joanne Kathleen), instead of using her full name, as they feared boys would not read books by a woman. The next section leads into the upbriging of Rowling's life from birth, her relationship with her sister, Diane, and the death of her mother was integral in her writing. Thus leading into the section that tells of the fateful train ride home and how she had the inspiration to write about a boy wizard. Afterwards, there is a brief discussion about her first failed marriage and how she continued to raise her daughter Jessica while still continuing to write the tales of Harry Potter in cafe's. Which then leads into segments for the Harry Potter books and films. It then proceeds to discuss her the success of both book and movie franchise, along with her second marriage, and her other adult books The Casual Vacancy and, her most recent release, of The Cuckoo's Calling written under the pen name of Robert Galbraith. The latter part of the article focuses on Rowling's charity work, influences, political viewpoints, list of awards and bibliography, with an extensive reference portion to end the article. At the bottom are links to her website among other realted websites.

Encyclopedia Britannica Online Summary of JK Rowling
The Encyclopedia Britannica article on JK Rowling is incredibly brief. There are only five paragraphs, a few of them only one sentence each. It cites only when and where she was born and why she is famous. It then proceeds to discuss how the Harry Potter series came to be and the growth of its popularity, which also became a major movie franchise. The article ends with the two major distinctions she was given: officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)and the chevalier of the French Legion of Honour. There are links to three other subject heading for Rowling, along with an article for Encyclopædia Britannica Profiles 300 Women Who Changed the World. However, when you do click on the link, JK Rowling is not listed in the A-Z guide. Perhaps she was taken off the list and the link still remains. However, there is a disclaimer stating: "The topic J.K. Rowling is discussed at the following external Web sites ."

Comparison between the Two Online Encyclopedia's
There is a huge difference between Wikipedia and Encyclopedia Britannica. While there are about 20 subject headings for Wikipedia, the sparse Britannica glosses over only the important information to give a snapshot of the author's life so far. Essentially, the Britannica is roughly the same amount of information that Wikipedia has in it's introdcution to JK Rowling. Both have similar information to the beginnings of Rowling's career. Starting from the time she was teaching in Portugal to when she started writing the Harry Potter series on the train. As stated before, Wikipedia expands on each subject it introduces while Britannica does not. Wikipedia lists many of Rowling's accomplishments such as book awards and her honours while Britannica only covers the two international honours.

While the Britannica article does indicate which novels Rowling wrote during and subsequent to the Harry Potter books, they do not discuss the books status as the Wiki page does. The Wiki article discusses the origins of both The Casual Vacancy and The Cuckoo's Calling. However, they do not provide summaries of each book as the each have their own individual Wiki pages to do so. The Wiki article on Rowling, describes how the two adult fiction novels were completely different from the Harry Potter books that were geared for a younger audience. Wiki also does an exemplary summary of the rumours of JK Rowling writing a detective novel over the past couple of years from various leaked sources, including the author Ian Rankin, and actor/author Stephen Fry. Culminating in the exposure of one Tweet that exposed Rowling, despite the fake biography the publishers had created for Robert Galbraith, as the true author of The Cuckoo's Calling.

The Wiki page also highlights the future projects for J.K. Rowling, citing she was working on a couple of children's novels and and a printed version of a Harry Potter encyclopedia. There is also a mention of her Pottermore venture which is a website devoted to accessing more information on the Harry Potter universe. The Wiki page then leads to the importance of philanthropic work in Rowling's life. The Britannica does not discuss any of the above mentioned topics. As stated before, the Britannica article on J.K. Rowling is and incredbily brief synopsis of her life. It may be surmised perhaps, that this would be the entry found in the print version of The Encyclopedia Britannica.

Reference Comparisons
The Britannica article lists the contributors as The Editors of The Encyclopedia of Britannica. When one clicks it gives a list of every editor associated with the website. Thus, it is unclear as to whether this was a collective writing the article or if it was simply already established and hence not actual writers associated with the article. The Article History provides much better information as to who added information to the article. There are three contributors listed, with most being written by Amy Tikkanen, who is the Corrections Manager at Encylopedia of Britannica. There is no other information on this particular contributor. The second, contributor to the Rowling article was from Chelsey Parrot-Sheffer, a research editor with the Britannica. Again, there is no other information on this contibutor. The third and final contributor to the article is from a John M. Cunningham who is a reader's editor for Britannica. His is the only one that has a brief biography of his qualifications.

There are links in the Britannica where Rowling is mentioned. However, as with the article on Rowling itself, it is very brief. There are three subjects listed in the reference section: "creation of Harry Potter", "importance of Edinborough" and "science fiction." While these topics are much more extensive than the article on JK Rowling herself, again, the author is only merely mentioned in each of the above mentioned three subjects. These would not be considered helpful for anyone looking for more information about the author. It does not provide any other websites, books or any other resource material to further any research required.

By contrast, the Wikipedia page includes many more contributors and resources and is all updated to include the most recent information on JK Rowling. The important thing to note is that the Wiki page lists a bibliography on Rowling's works. This is a good area to start when doing research on an author as people may not know what other books he or she has written. As discussed before, it also lists chronologically all the awards Rowling has received, which provides an overall look at Rowling's accomplishments. There is also a small list of articles pertaining to Rowling. The references section offers up to 225 citations so far. Within these citations are diverse mediums used by the contributors. A couple of examples include, interviews with JK Rowling and David Heyman (the producer of the Harry Potter films), general periodical articles, her own website, books etc. As I will discuss further, in the subsequent section, the contents of the 'revision history' of Rowling wiki, I wish to highlight the top 3 contributors who has updated the Rowling wiki.

The three names that appear most frequently in the history of the Rowling wiki are Lemorato, Angela Maclean, and Serendipodous. There is no information on the first contributor and only a brief introduction and slight apology from Angela Maclean. Serendipoduous includes a biography that indicated that he was a "former student of modern literature and has a Masters in Research". The times I have checked on the Wiki article on JK Rowling seems to be updated frequently on a monthly basis by various contributors. At the end of the article, there is a list of external links to other websites related to Rowling. There is also quite a long list of other subjects pertaining to the author.

Article Comparisons
Overall, my impressions are that the Wikipedia article is far more valuable for information than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Not only does it provide more in-depth information but Wikipedia also provides quite a detailed list of references for further research. As explained before, the Britannica article seems to be only an introductory summary to JK Rowling. It also appears to something one would find in the print version where space is limited and hence the truncated information. The Wikipedia article adds more information and perhaps that is due to the fact there are many other contributors and space is not a limitation.

As indicated in the previous section, there are three main contributors to the wiki page, as indicated in the History area : Angela Maclean, Serendipodous and Lemarato. They do not seem to be associated with Rowling, through her personally nor through her publishers. The discussions seems to be debate correct spelling and possible errors in information. It would be appear that as J.K. Rowling does not have an official biography, the contributors are doing their best to find the most accurate information on the author for the wiki page.

In the TALK area for the JK Rowling Wikipedia page has quite of few enteries. It mostly pertains to the leakage from the Robert Galbraith reveal []. There is also a few mentions of citations and how it may have changed, as Rowling's official website has taken down some of the information, that contributors were using as sources. This is indicated in the heading of "We got a problem" written by Serendipodus where it outlines the apparent changes.. It appears that the contributors are in the process of seeking out other sources to confirm their past citations. There is an entry about the upcoming script that Rowling will be writing for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. This has it's own article as well so more information about the film would be found there.

Therefore, in my final assessment, the Wikipedia article for J.K. Rowling is the better of the two because it is able to elaborate on information it has gathered. It provides an excellent resource list and links to other related websites The Encyclopedia Britannica article is for those that only want a brief overview of who J.K. Rowling is and lists highlights of her life.

Books & Periodicals
Fraser, Lindsey, An Interview with J.K. Rowling. London: Mammoth, 2000.

Happy Birthday To 'Harry Potter' Author JK Rowling.(Brief article). International Business Times - US ed [serial on the Internet]. (2012), [cited November 10, 2013]: Available from: Academic OneFile.

Hall, Sara. "JK Rowling: The Hidden Face Of Pottermania." Modern English Digest 3 (2007): 32. Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

"JK Rowling: 'I am prouder of my years as a single mother than of any other part of my life'; JK Rowling has claimed she is prouder of her years as a single mother than any other achievement, as she discloses how she was shunned at church for being 'unmarried'.(NEWS)." The Telegraph Online 2013: Academic OneFile. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

"JK Rowling, Publishing Wizard." Director (00123242) 65.2 (2011): 11. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

McGreevy, Ann Loftus. "Under Her Spell: An Analysis Of The Creativity Of JK Rowling." Gifted Education International 19.1 (2004): 34. Supplemental Index. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Roberts, Alan. "JK And Me." Times Educational Supplement 4644 (2005): 28-29. MasterFILE Elite. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

"Rowling's Potter Putters To End." Teacher: The National Education Magazine Mar 2007 (2007): 29. Informit Humanities & Social Sciences Collection. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Shapiro, Marc. J.K. Rowling: The Wizard Behind Harry Potter. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2001.

Vargas, Elizabeth. "JK Rowling: A Year In The Life." News Special Report (ABC) (2009): 1. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Websites
"J.K. Rowling." jkrowling.com. 2012. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. http://www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/

"J.K. Rowling." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. .

"J.K. Rowling." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.