Twenty-five introductory college psychology textbooks are analyzed for terms most frequently used, the textbooks which employed the largest number of frequently used terms; similarity among textbooks; and the relationship between readability and technical thoroughness of the texts. (Author/JR)

The study surveyed colleges to determine what texts were being selected for use in graduate level courses in gifted education. The types and levels of the courses, as well as the reasons for selection of the identified texts, were also determined. A summary of text content plus respondent comments is provided for the most frequently selected…

Contends that if textbooks are to be improved it is essential that teachers, administrators, and textbook selectors become more demanding and discriminating consumers. Examines various textbook components that need improvement such as: (1) photographs; (2) basic skills exercises; (3) worksheets; and (4) content. (BSR)

Discusses content, perspective, and level of analysis of nine recent books suitable for use in an undergraduate course on the role of women in the labor market. Four books are judged more suitable as standard textbooks; the remaining five function better as collections of supplementary readings. (Author/DH)

Reports that variation in textbook prices is not correlated with textbook quality as judged by instructors and that university faculty are less price conscious when selecting textbooks than are community college faculty. States that, if faculty had greater access to price information, textbook prices would decrease. Makes recommendations for…

Surveys eleven currently available undergraduate textbooks on industrial organization. Concludes that some texts have an economics emphasis and others a policy emphasis. Rates the content of each text according to established criteria. (JDH)

Ten college-level money and banking textbooks were arrayed along six continua representing professors' major preferences when choosing a text. The continua topics are theoretical approach, complexity of presentation, theory/institution mix, nuts and bolts explanations, organizational approach, and writing style. (RM)

Sixty-one psychology textbooks were analyzed according to four criteria: student acceptance and interest, readability and human interest, comprehensiveness and size, and psychobiological content. This analytic approach can be used in all subjects to match text selection with course objectives in order to increase student satisfaction. (AM)

Describes the Instructional Strategy Diagnostic Profile (ISDP)--an analytic tool that facilitates the evaluation and revision of existing instruction and the design of new instruction--and recounts its use in comparing two textbooks to determine the most appropriate for an organic chemistry course. (JEG)

A college educator (trained in composition) encountered some problems when he began teaching an introductory literature course. In the first year of the course, he used a fiction anthology as his textbook. The class examined one story at a time, and attempts to compare readings seemed forced. The teacher realized that anthologies are narrow in…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: Choosing the textbook for an introductory course can be a frustrating, haphazard, and time-consuming process. This year, members of the sociology department at Mercy College tried a selection process that eliminated at least the first two of those three problems. To begin, the department sent…

A questionnaire was developed to determine the content, mode of instruction, approach, and textbook selection of instructors of introductory economics courses. The survey was distributed in 1974 to 143 economics instructors at two- and four-year colleges in Illinois. Results are presented here, and recommendations are made. (Author/NHM)

Presents a summary review of 36 introductory college level astronomy textbooks for nonscience majors. References to more detailed reviews published elsewhere are provided where they exist. (SL)

Compares professors' ratings of the pedagogical quality of 43 introductory psychology texts with measures of 29 objective features such as manuscript length and number of references. Regression analysis showed that the 29 features predicted substantial portions of the variance in the professors' ratings. States that the comparative data may be…

Discussion of textbooks criticizes review and selection by professors without consideration for price, publishers who push sales of new or revised textbooks instead of older textbooks, and emphasis on readability and teaching techniques rather than on content. (ND)