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出版CQ Press, 2010-10-12
主題Political Science / Reference
ISBN19331164479781933116440
URLhttp://books.google.com.hk/books?id=nzBSAQAACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋This comprehensive encyclopedia is the work of editor in chief Kurian (who in the past 20 years has produced 20-plus encyclopedias and more than 30 other reference books), five associate editors (all are American Political Science Association-nominated members), and 72 members of the board of editorial consultants and advisers. The encyclopedia's 1,500-plus signed articles represent contributors from nearly 40 countries from a variety of social sciences and humanities disciplines. The volumes include core articles, long interpretative essays, short descriptive articles, breakout articles, lexical entries, and biographies (nearly 300 mostly nonliving persons). The volumes are arranged strictly on an A-Z basis, and each volume has an extensive thematic table of contents arranged by subject or subfield. Entries include see also references and, for those with 500 words or more, a bibliography.Contributors range from very well-established scholars to those beginning their academic careers. The set includes some black-and-white images, maps, and charts. Each print volume contains a complete reprint of the index to the entire set, with main entries in boldface. The introductory essay outlines the essential concepts that the encyclopedia addresses. While the work aims for comprehensiveness, given the extraordinarily interdisciplinary nature of the field, some entries have been overlooked (perhaps out of concern to keep the size of the work within a certain boundary or to keep the subject as close to the core as possible). For example, no entry appears for focus groups (nor is this approach found as an indexed term). Within the confines of what Kurian set out to achieve, no other current work of this scope, breadth, or depth exists.The online version re-creates access to the print version as e-text without enhancements. It does provide users with some options not available in print, including the capabilities to browse images, create a profile, list favorite documents, save searches, format citations, list the last 25 documents visited as part of a document history section, and e-mail documents. The online format does not have the same limitations associated with print in terms of length. With this in mind, inclusion of more information about the contributors--beyond simply listing institutional affiliation--would have been useful, especially their academic rank and department. The advanced search option allows users to "search all text." Thus, searching "focus groups" leads to, e.g., the "Qualitative Methodologies" section. Today's searchers likely will find the online version preferable to print and enjoy being able to import e-documents directly into other electronic software. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. General Readers; Lower-division Undergraduates; Upper-division Undergraduates; Graduate Students; Researchers/Faculty; Professionals/Practitioners. Reviewed by G. R. Walden.