Specialized encyclopedias
usually focus on one subject area.
A specialized encyclopedia is usually limited to a specific topic or range of topics within an area of interest such as American politics, chemical technology or Caribbean popular music.
Purpose
Most specialized encyclopedias are designed for scholarly and academic research.
The majority of specialized encyclopedias have been assembled for academic and scholarly research purposes. They seldom have any particular slant, and generally are designed to gather information on the subject matter of the particular topic which they are covering.
Value
Specialized encyclopedia are valuable due to the depth of information they provide.
Specialized encyclopedias are valuable in conducting research because they focus on specific topics and contain histories, statistics, definitions and descriptions as well as broad bibliographies that are useful in finding additional research materials. This makes them the ideal starting place for investigating a research topic. General encyclopedias, which cover a great deal of material, cannot be as expansive and detailed as can a specialized encyclopedia.
Online
There are dozens of online specialized encyclopedias of value to students, researchers and teachers.
Researchers, teachers, students and anyone else seeking specific information can access dozens of specialized encyclopedias online. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Afro-American Almanac, The Encyclopedia Mythica, Medical Encyclopedia and Illustrated Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology are a few of the available titles.
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