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The Encyclopaedia As a Form of the Book Katharine Schopflin A

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The Encyclopaedia As a Form of the Book Katharine Schopflin A Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book The Encyclopaedia as a Form of the Book Katharine Schopflin A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Information Studies University College London July 2013 1 Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book Declaration of originality I, Katharine Schopflin confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is comprised of original research and ideas, except as acknowledged in the text. [signed] Katharine Schopflin PhD Candidate 2 Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book Abstract The field of book history is concerned with exploring the physical form of the book and the circumstances of its creation and reception, in order to gain insight into the societies and industries which produced and consumed it. Hitherto, comparatively little attention has been given to the encyclopaedia as a generic form of the book. The purpose of this thesis is to apply the research approaches taken in book history to the encyclopaedia in order to define it as a type of book. Original research was undertaken in three parts: review literature was analysed to identify the encyclopaedia’s functional attributes, a selection of titles were examined to discern their physical features and surveys and interviews were carried out in order to gather the opinions of the main participants in its communications circuit. Once a definition was formed, it was applied to online forms of encyclopaedia to consider whether the encyclopaedia has a generic signature which carries beyond the material form of the book. The findings show that the encyclopaedia has a distinct identity, both in terms of the characteristics for which it is valued, and its physical components. This identity distinguishes it not just from familiar, much-studied forms of the book such as the novel, but also from other reference books such as dictionaries. The findings also demonstrate that many of these characteristics are present in the online forms of the encyclopaedia, even where technology might have made them unnecessary or irrelevant. While the definition formulated of the encyclopaedia is not a challenging one, it demonstrates that it is possible to formulate a toolkit for the identification of literary forms, and to apply it to new forms of book types, such as online versions. Refinement of this toolkit and application to other forms of the book could reveal new insights into the nature of different literary genres and their relationships to each other and to their readers’ expectations. 3 Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors Vanda Broughton, Lyn Robinson and, previously, Ian Rowlands for their support in undertaking this research. Between them they offered extremely useful advice which helped me to formulate my research strategies, focus my ideas and refine my conclusions. Thanks also to UCL’s Department of Information Studies as a whole, including their excellent administration team, and Elizabeth Shepherd, who was Postgraduate Adviser of Studies for most of my research. UCL Library’s Ruth Russell and Rachel Nelligan were also very helpful and responsive to my requests for new books. I have been lucky to have access to such a well-stocked and expert library service. I owe a debt of gratitude to my various employers whose flexibility enabled me to carry out my research, meet my supervisors and write my thesis over the last six years. PhD research while working full-time is extremely difficult and the tolerance shown by some of my employers was essential for the completion of this thesis. I would also like to thank my fellow-PhD students, both at UCL and in the wider world who offered support, advice and pointed out resources and events of relevance to my research. Particular mention should go to Dr Ernesto Priego who was endlessly supportive throughout the process, and showed that it could be done. I’d also like to thank colleagues Dr Isabel Galina, Susan Greenberg, Dr Sara Batts, Sarah Merry and others whose advice was both of great practical use and hugely encouraging at times when the project otherwise seemed impossible. In particular, I would like to thank the organisers of the Loughborough Research2 Conference 2011. It was a pivotal point which allowed me to see my work in the context of others’ PhD research. I’d also like to thank everyone who participated in my interviews and surveys, and who disseminated them widely, particularly among the wider graduate student community. Finally, I would like to thank the friends and family who offered moral support and understanding during the years I have spent researching and writing this thesis. I owe you apologies for missing many important events, and thanks for your patience. A special mention must go to (Dr) Paul Richards, whose advice started me off on this journey in the first place, but greatest thanksare due to the long-suffering Nick Smith and Wilf Weston who accompanied me on its longest stretches. 4 Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book Thesis outline Chapter Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Background to the research, motivations for the study, aims and objectives and scope Chapter 2: Methodology The methodology used in the field of book history and for the research carried out in the thesis Chapter 3: Literature Review Review of the relevant literature on encyclopaedias, drawn from the fields of book history, history of knowledge and science and metalexicography Chapter 4: History of the History of encyclopaedias, charting their origins encyclopaedia and development to the form encountered today Chapter 5: Qualities of the Research examining reviews of reference works in encyclopaedia order to discern the characteristics understood as common to a successful encyclopaedia Chapter 6: Features of the Research surveying a selection of encyclopaedias as encyclopaedia objects in an attempt to identify the structural elements out of which they are made Chapter 7: The encyclopaedia Research surveying the producers and consumers communications circuit of encyclopaedias for their opinions as to what physical and abstract characteristics they associate with encyclopaedias Chapter 8: The electronic Application of the definition of encyclopaedia to encyclopaedia three examples of online encyclopaedias Chapter 9: Identifying the Conclusions in answer to the research questions, encyclopaedia: Conclusions achievements of thesis and further research based on thesis findings 5 Katharine Schopflin – The encyclopaedia as a form of the book Table of Contents Declaration of originality ............................................................................................ 2 Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 3 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 4 Thesis outline .............................................................................................................. 5 Table of contents ......................................................................................................... 6 Table of figures .......................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................. 14 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Scholarly background to the thesis .............................................................................. 14 1.3 The definition of ‘encyclopaedia’ ................................................................................. 20 1.4 Statement of the problem .............................................................................................. 21 1.5 Motivations for this study ............................................................................................. 22 1.6 Main research questions ................................................................................................ 23 1.7 Scope ................................................................................................................................ 23 1.7 Thesis outline ................................................................................................................. 24 Chapter 2: Methodology ............................................................................................ 29 2.1 Research approach.......................................................................................................... 29 2.2 Chapter 5 methodology ................................................................................................. 33 2.2.1 Content analysis as a methodology .............................................................................. 33 2.2.2 Chapter 5 Sample ............................................................................................................ 37 2.3 Chapter 6 methodology ................................................................................................. 38 2.3.1 Chapter 6 research approach ........................................................................................ 38 2.3.2
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