I'm thinking of purchasing the DVD edition for some research on the setting of a short story that I'm intending to write. In particular, I want to know more about apparels and geography, not just constrained to Europe but Central and South Asia too. Does anyone here own a set of EB (doesn't matter which year)? How comprehensive is it in providing me with such information?

I don't know what it's like now, but the old leather bound version back then it was pretty comprehensive. However, if you're looking for very specific information then it may only make a reference to it. It might not be as detailed as you desire.

Sometimes you find more specialist information on wikipedia. I'm not suggesting you rely on wikipedia, but rather look at where it's sourcing its information from.

I've got a older book set from the eighties and I've got a dvd edition from 09. Like Navagon says, its got a lot of great information, but probably wouldn't get in-depth as you seem to need. You might be better off getting some specific books on the subjects.

i think i have the 2009 student edition or something, i probably dumped it after finding Wikipedia
its pretty good for those who dont have a net connection

I would take a trip to the local library instead of relying entirely on one source. I'm sure consulting it would be helpful, but only as an introduction on the topic.

I don't need too detailed information, just an introductory guide to apparels and elementary descriptions of physical landscapes. Will it be good enough for me?

If you just want an introduction it will probably work alright for you. Of course, you could find what you're looking for on Wikipedia, but with Britannica, its a lot more likely that its accurate. I got my dvd version off eBay for around $20, and I love it.

Thanks a lot!

Wikipedia was found to contain roughly the same amount of errors as Encyclopedia Britannica in a peer reviewed study done by Nature in 2005.

Yea, Wikipedia really only gets error ridden when you start to deal with controversial subjects such as politics and the like. Everything else is constantly peer reviewed so any errors are fixed fairly quickly.

Probably so, but personally, I feel safer using Britannica.I usually use Britannica when I have to have accurate information, but Wikipedia very useful for just looking up something out of curiosity, or for things Britannica doesn't cover, like video games and movies.

Is it easy to find out a list of sub-topics under a topic that I'm interested in? Say, I want to know more about 19th century attire worn by English men, and I want a full list of names of the clothes, categorized by the part they're worn on to. Is it easy/convenient to acquire that sort of information from EB, rather than having to sift through tons of information to get to where I want?

To be more concise about my problem, I'm having difficulty coming up with the appropriate descriptions of the attire that my characters are wearing. It's easy if I'm writing fantasy, since I've been an avid fantasy reader for years, but I'm trying for a fusion of the Old West culture and modern apparel. Unfortunately I know very little about the names of clothes and adornments of people who lived in the Western frontiers.