Open science is key to the MDPI ethos, whether that be in the form of open access publications in our journals, or through access to free webinars on our Sciforum platform. The sharing of ideas, concepts and also hypotheses can be achieved using Encyclopedia by MDPI.

What is Encyclopedia?

Launched in 2018, Encyclopedia is a platform in partnership with the journal Encyclopedia. It encourages high-quality expert entries from all research fields. The aim of the platform is to provide a user-generated hub of scientific knowledge. The entries in Encyclopedia are digital, digestable and in multiple media formats, so you can watch and listen to cutting edge ideas, as well as reading about recent discoveries on the Encyclopedia webpage.

Encyclopedia comprises the platform itself, the Encyclopedia journal and Encyclopedia books. On the platform, both short videos and written entries are welcomed. Authors of written entries of a high standard on the platform may be encouraged to submit work to the journal for peer review and publication, and related entries may be collated into a book by the MDPI books team.

Sciplayer

If you prefer a multimedia approach to open science, the Sciplayer is worth checking out. Sciplayer takes viewers through various demonstrations, case studies and lectures which can spark scientific discourse. There are plenty of interesting series uploaded on Sciplayer, such as the Nobel prize series.

Why Post on Encyclopedia?

Encyclopedia is a great place to drive forward scientific discussion and discovery. It is an open access project which is free for everyone. The website is updated regularly, with a comments section for discussions about the ideas posted.

It also allows a wider reach of your ideas. As it is open access, anyone can read the content posted on Encyclopedia. This allows researchers from fields other than your own to see your work and allow you to potentially find collaborators for your research.

As Encyclopedia is not limited by scope, this allows for a broader base of knowledge. Although entries are categorized, there are endless possibiliies for potential contributions, from a scientific concept, history of research or simply an interesting video/image. There are plenty of ways to get involved with contributing to Encyclopedia.

An Interview with Flora Li, Project Manager of Encyclopedia

We spoke to Flora Li, Project Manager of Encyclopedia, to learn more about the platform and also her role in managing the platform.

So, what is the purpose of Encyclopedia?

FL: As information available on the internet is of varying quality and it always takes scholars a long time to find trustworthy sources, Encyclopedia aims to provide a comprehensive record for scientific developments and publish the latest research results for researchers and the general public who are interested in accurate and advanced knowledge on specific topics.

The Encyclopedia journal is an affiliated journal of the platform. It is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal recording qualified entries of which contents are reliable, objective and established knowledge. It contains reviews that offer a comprehensive analysis of literature, identifying current gaps or problem. Encyclopedia books collect entries containing a comprehensive overview of professional terminologies from all scientific fields based on existing knowledge.

What are your responsibilities within the Encyclopedia project?

FL: As the Project Manager, I serve as the primary point of contact for all the relevant stakeholders, including our customers, development team, scrum master, project team, and the corresponding business managers. I am not only actively involved in the product development process, but also manage and anticipate customer goals and objectives.

How does Encyclopedia integrate with other MDPI goods and services?

FL: Encyclopedia is a service frequently offered to MDPI’s authors, reviewers, and other researchers.Currently, quite a number of entries posted on the Encyclopedia platform were adapted from articles published in MDPI journals. We believe that Encyclopedia can provide a wider range of audiences for those publications, and meanwhile, our users also benefit from the scientific content.

If contributing to open science wasn’t enough of an incentive, Encyclopedia operates a points-based system for contrbutors. Contributors can gain points for creating new entries or expanding, updating or commenting on existing entries. These points can then be redeemed for discount vouchers to be used on other MDPI services. Contributors will also be acknowledged on their public SciProfiles page.

How can academics get involved?

FL: The Encyclopedia platform is free and open for academics to share new knowledge and ideas. All users can create, comment, and edit entries. Encyclopedia always encourages scholars to submit well-prepared entries or reviews to the Encyclopedia journal. Academics can also contact our Sciplayer team who can make the publihsed work into a professional video or arrange an interview with them. We also welcome any idea, plan and proposal for producing written work with Encyclopedia books.

What is the importance of Encyclopedia in regards to Open Access?

FL: Encyclopedia is an open access knowledge-sharing project. For entries posted on theEncyclopedia platform, contents are labeled as “Open Access” and licensed by the respective authors in accordance with the Creative Commons-Attribution ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. For papers published in Encyclopedia journal, contents are labeled as “Open Access” and licensed by the respective authors in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Text content published on the Encyclopedia Books websites are labeled as “Open Access” and licensed by the respective authors in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) license.

Can you tell us a bit more about Sciplayer, what is it and also why is it useful for the scholarly community?

FL: In April 2021, we released a new feature, Sciplayer, with the intention of disseminating scientific knowledge in a more vivid way. We believe videos can convey the information more efficiently as Internet databases of videos have emerged as useful tools in life and science. Currently, our team is not only making videos for publiashed papers, but also creating video series such as Nobel Prize Winners, Scholar Interviews and more series are yet to be announced. The service has also been welcomed by academics since its launch.

If people wish to learn more about what Encyclopedia has to offer, where can they go?

FL: For more information about Encyclopedia, please refer to our website (https://encyclopedia.pub/). For any detailed operations, please turn to our help center or contact Encyclopedia office (office@encyclopedia.pub).