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4 Sept 2019 Analyzing the Convention of Definitions

1. Writing Style
- The Wikipedia entries for “Blinded Experiment” and “Human Microbiome”
represented a rather informal tone because it was written on a generally well-known
website, being Wikipedia. Over here, information is made public to the public where
people of all knowledgeable backgrounds are able to garner a relative understanding.
In these two cases, the author seems to want to educate and inform simply by bolding
the term that is needed to be defined, and going into more intricate details by allowing
for a “Contents” chart to analyze the breakdown for understanding the definition of
“Blinded Experiment” as well as “Human Microbiome”. Meanwhile, Absolute Zero
seems to have a more formal tone where it is given in a formal textbook-like setting
for the purposes of educating those that are interested or more so involved in STEM,
as this is an Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. The author wants the reader to
truly understand the concept in a visual and formal setting as he/she dives into
visuals, diagrams, and a more structured form of analysis.

2. Evidence
- The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology focuses heavily on the definition of
absolute zero, and in order to validify in doing so, it talks about the derivation from
Charles’s Law. In Charles’s law, it is factually stated that gas and temperature are
directly proportional to one another. This form of evidence may be utilized to show
that the absolute zero originates from another law or concept, that way we as the
reader understand and know its theoretical defining. In comparison, the Wikipedia
entry for Human microbiome performs the same task as it depicts the entire mass of
microbiota that reside in the human body, the “evidence” or the “proof” that
articulates the definition. We have an entire human microbiome inside of us so it
makes the most logical sense that we ourselves should be analyzed from a
microscopic perspective so to speak, to define what is inside the “Human
Microbiome” as science can only be proved by science. Lastly, in defining the term
“Blinded experiment”, we see that its evidence comes from applying this into the
everyday usage we have in the world of science. Specifically, it refers to its
importance in the scientific method… which is needed in order to successfully carry
out protocols and experimentations. Blinding is important to be defined, so it is
understood and applied well in the world of science, and how WE as researchers use
it in how we perform in research labs, clinical trials, etc.

3. Organization
- The Wikipedia entries for both “Human Microbiome” and “Blinded Experiment” are
broken down into a cluster-like organization where we see a partitioning in the term.
Both terms are applied here in the broad sense, so it is important to understand some
of their critical factors such as their history, background, applications, and types.
Since the term is broad, and has many perspectives in being analyzed, it helps the
 reader understand the term in a way such that the definition itself isn’t too
overwhelming. Overall, it presents a clarity and uniform structure in understanding
the term, and someone who may not be understanding of the term right away (lack of
a science background), can look at the term from the different clusters and/or
partitions. However, the term “Absolute Zero” is defined and understood more for a
science major or young adult that is aspiring in this field, as it is found in an
encyclopedia, and it is understood that the visual depiction may appear as more
complicated and denser in content. Since I myself am a Biological science major, it
was not too difficult to follow since I have a pretty broad understanding of these
concepts. But if another student or young adult were to be reading this
piece/definition, they might find it difficult to understand as the examples utilized are
much more complicated such as describing the role absolute zero plays in liquifying
Helium. Right off the bat, it becomes more vigorous to read, and is more brain-heavy
to read compared to the “Human Microbiome” and “Blinded Experiment”
counterparts.

4. Citation Style
- Wikipedia entries like to operate a number system when it comes to citing their
sources. In examining the sources for “Human Microbiome” and “Blinding
Experiment”, we find that there is a number that shows up at the end of a sentence in
the form of an exponent. Once it is clicked on, there is a references section that is
scrolled down to when examining the source as an entirety. For those two particular
definitions is where the references lay. This way, the writing remains “cleaner” so to
speak as the different citations and references within the context of defining the term
can typically become more complicated. However, in examining the citation style for
the encyclopedia defining “Absolute Zero”, I found no direct source of citations.
There is a further reading, but it is implied that the references are in the back of the
encyclopedia, as a potential means to make the writing more succinct and easier to
understand. Specific to “Absolute Zero”, I see that there is no actual reference or
number that may be referring to where the source is from, but because encyclopedias
are widely reviewed before publishing, it is possible the source itself is a reference, as
if this is a textbook being examined. The author employs the encyclopedia as its own
reference so to speak.

5. Design
- “Blinding Experiment” and “Human Microbiome” employ the partitioning as well as
the clustering technique when defining their terms. But as a Wikipedia entry, clicking
on the terms itself gives us a broad view on what the term itself is. It begins with an
image, as well as a caption. Often times, readers that may not be familiar with a
concept like to learn and apply definitions in a visual context and setting as we know
a “picture says a thousand words”. Also, multiple terms are highlighted in blue
throughout the defining of the term in order to click on, if the definition begins to
 become complicated. As a reader, this is easy to follow along, as certain words are
more difficult to follow than others. As a means of utilizing this technique, the reader
can be expected to ease into the document and not be intimidated by what is to come
on the document as a whole. It’s colorful, it’s interesting, and as a reader who may
find concepts such as these, it is quite elementary in comprehending as a whole. In
contrast however, the encyclopedia entry for “Absolute Zero” uses a series of
graphical images and numbers that are a great deal more complicated to understand
then its Wikipedia counterparts. Since this is also an encyclopedia, it begins to dive
and give examples that are strenuous in understanding, and that is because the
audiences in Wikipedia and this science encyclopedia are different people. The
Science crowd versus the non-science crowd. As a student in the field of biology and
science, I appreciate and comprehend these examples more as it is up to my “speed”
or understanding, but the Wikipedia entry for “Human Microbiome” and “Blinding
Experiment” have a more generalized audience, and applies to people not just in that
particular field of understanding thereby making the document easier to view as a
whole in terms of graphics and design.
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