A: Encyclopedia is an online reference tool created and curated by active scholars. It aims to highlight the latest research results as well as provide benchmark information for researchers and the general public interested in accurate and advanced knowledge on specific topics. Users can edit and revise the entry at any time. Once the entry is submitted, it will be online immediately. Encyclopedia is built for scholars, appealing mainly to those in scientific fields.
A: Encyclopedia is fully subsidized by MDPI and is completely free for contributors. You will not be charged for publishing entries on the Encyclopedia platform.
A: Yes, you can. Please log in to your account and find the entry that you want to edit, click the “Edit” button to start editing. After you finish editing, click the “Submit” button. The revision history will be recorded, you can check it at the right side of the entry page.
A: The description should be a statement of the meaning of a term (a word, phrase, or other set of symbols, usually referring to the title of the entry). It should be limited to the most essential and important aspects of the entry. On the Encyclopedia platform, the entry type “Topic Review” has a Definition part that usually starts with “Title is…”. For example, Chitosan is a random copolymer comprising d-glucosamine (the deacetylated ones) and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine units.
A: If someone revised the entry (A) and submitted her/his draft (A). Your draft (A’) will become outdated. You need to read the entry (A) and revise again based on the new version.
A: We do not recommend doing this. Encyclopedia is a user-generated content platform which aims to provide concise and mature knowledge. We encourage authors to create original content that is different from previously published articles. Generally, we will remove the entry which is the same as the published work.
A: Encyclopedia does not welcome any form of immature, illegal, violent, pornographic, or advertising content.
a. Contents which are considered immature and subjective are not welcome, such as “I think”, “we can conclude”, and similar examples. Encyclopedia serves as a record of existing knowledge; therefore, please do not write your own original theories, opinions, or insights in the entries.
b. Illegal and pornographic contents are not allowed.
c. Contents which contain violence are not welcome. This includes aggression in the form of personal attacks, propaganda, and hate speech.
d. Contents which are non-neutral and contain personal feelings are not welcome. For examples, phrases such as “it is a very bad/good”, “it is the best way”, etc. Particular views, whether political, religious, or otherwise, should not be promoted.
e. Advertising content is not welcome. Please do not advertise your company, products, or services in Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia is not an advertising platform.
A: Generally, the elements of a high-quality entry are as follows: a short title, concise definition, comprehensive and objective content, appropriate reference citations, and no copyright conflict. Title should be a noun or noun phrase within 8 words. We encourage using the full name of the item as the entry title, unless the abbreviation is common. If the title is a countable noun, it should be in the singular form.
Description: It should focus on the most essential part. If possible, it should start with “{Title} is …”. The definition should be a single paragraph without any citations.
Content: It should be clearly structured and begin with “Introduction”. We encourage you to include all the research aspects of this topic in as much detail as possible. Besides this, the content should have been validated, and we do not encourage the inclusion of new, unreported findings in Encyclopedia.
Appropriate reference citations and no copyright conflict are required. For more details on the copyright issue, please refer to the related explanation in “Help”.
Others:
Figures: The entry is better with figures. Figures should be high-resolution to make sure readers can easily read the smallest font size of a character, number or symbol on it.
Format: The structural sections should be preceded by headings. They should be in sequential numerical order: “heading 1”, then “heading 2, heading 3…” in the same section.
It is better to insert the references via our editing tool to make sure they are correctly formatted and without duplication. For more information on the editing tool, please refer to https://encyclopedia.pub/guideline
A: Yes, you can. You can send the online entry link to them or they search for the entry in the search box directly, then they can edit the entry by clicking the "Edit" button next to the entry title. All the scholars involved will be recorded as contributors.
A: There is no conflict if you own the copyright of the content. Otherwise you need to follow the copyright rules of the published article you are going to use.
A: The contributors themselves. All original contents published across the Encyclopedia projects are labeled as Open-Access and licensed with Creative Commons-Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Please note that content from our partners may be licensed by other copyright policies. Please confirm the copyright before using.
A: Vouchers can be obtained by redeeming your credits from your profile. For example, 100 points can be redeemed for a CHF 100 voucher, 200 points for a CHF 200 voucher. The vouchers can be used as the article processing charge for any MDPI journals. Vouchers will be valid for two calendar years. Vouchers that have been issued for more than two years will be cleared.
A: Voucher codes entitle you to a discount on the article processing charge for any MDPI journals by providing you with a designated code. This code will be clearly displayed on the page with the Voucher and it will be easy to identify.
A: You may use at most 200 CHF vouchers to deduct the article processing charge per submission. The vouchers cannot be combined together with other types of discounts issued by MDPI for article processing.
A: Credits can be earned in the following ways:
• Confirm your registration
• Invite Connections to post an entry/video/biography
• Publish an entry/video/biography
• Edit an entry (qualified)
• Comment
• Share an entry/video/ biography by an invited link to connections
• Get a like
Credits are automatically distributed by the system, but please note that they are not available for the first 48 hours. If your posts are withdrawn due to inappropriate conduct or content during this period, your credits will be withdrawn accordingly. For detailed information, please visit https://encyclopedia.pub/announcement/view/14.
A: Credits can usually be redeemed through the credit portal. Credits will be valid for one calendar year. Credits that have been issued for more than one year will be cleared. If you are actively working to earn and accumulate credits, do not forget to use your credits within the validity period.
A: Done: These points are available points and can be redeemed for rewards.
Pending: These points need to review before you can redeem them.
Cancel: These points will not be added to your account. For example, this will happen if your unqualified entry has changed the status to“Offline” (the points will change from pending to cancel).
A: We have encyclopedic journals for peer review of well-prepared entries. Your entry will be published with a DOI once your entry is accepted after peer review. The basic conditions of a well-prepared entry should be as follows:
(1) The entry (from Introduction to Conclusion) should be no less than 3000 words;
(2) The content is comprehensive without copyright conflict (citations from a single reference should not exceed 2%).
Besides the basic standards, the reviewers judge the entry mainly on:
(1) Language: English language and style are acceptable with no grammar mistakes or errors;
(2) Content: The content would be judged mainly from the following points: original, significant to the field, scientifically sound and not misleading, with appropriate and adequate citations;
(3) Structure: The entry is well-organized with a clear goal, structure, and logic. The necessary information is clear and integrated.
