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Reviews > Psychology & Sociology Reviews

Psychology & Sociology Reviews

"The consequences of behavior determine the probability that the behavior will occur again."  
                                                                                                        --B. F. Skinner


Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Textbook: "Introduction to Sociology" (2009) (Adopted Textbook)

Author: 
Ron J. Hammond, PhD., and others. and others.
Textbook URL: http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/

Reviewer: Lisa McDonnell, PhD., JD, Associate Professor of Sociology, St. Petersburg College

Dr. Lisa McDonnell (Click to view video)
Dr. Lisa McDonnell (Click to view video)
 Category  Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    4.0                                                                       

Accuracy    5.0                                                                       
                  
Readability    5.0 
                                                                     
                  
Consistency    5.0                                                                       
                  
Appropriateness    5.0 
                                                                     
                  
Interface    2.0           



Content usefulness    4.9                                                                       
                
Modularity    1.0           



Content errors    5.0                                                                       
                  
Reading level    5.0                                                                       
                  
Cultural relevance    4.6 
                                                                     
            
Overall Average    4.2 
                                                                     
  




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

I adopted this textbook for my classes, thus obviously I recommend it to others. This book is well organized and very easy to understand. The sequencing and flow are great, and includes helpful charts and modern day examples.  It is appropriate for remedial classes as well as community college year 1 and 2 students of all majors. Unfortunately, there is no way to modify this textbook.  The book comes with a test bank for instructors. I personally would like to thank the authors of this book for their hard work on this free online textbook. Their graciousness does not go unnoticed by both students and instructors. 



Textbook: "Introduction to Sociology" (2009)

Author:
Ron J. Hammond, PhD., and others.
Textbook URL: http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/

Reviewer: Tonmar Johnson, Professor of Sociology, Solano college
 
 Category  Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    3.3                                                         
Accuracy    3.7                                                                 
Readability    3.2                                                                           
Consistency    3.1                                                                         
Appropriateness    3.5                                                                                 
Interface    4.0                                                                                           
Content usefulness    3.6                                                                               
Modularity    3.2                                                                           
Content errors    3.0                                                                                           
Reading level    3.6                                                                                   
Cultural relevance    3.9                                                                                         
Overall Average    3.4                                                                               




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

I recommend this book as a supplementary text for 1st year college students majoring in sociology or liberal arts.  It is well formatted with chapters in a logical, sequential order, straightforward indexing, and a clear table of contents.  It is easy to read, and not too dull or complex, with good illustrations that relate to the content for better clarification.  I do not recommend it as a primary textbook because much of the material presented is almost too simple and basic.



Textbook: "Psychology: A Student Friendly Approach" (2004)

Author: T.L. Brink, Ph.D., MBA   
Textbook URL:
http://learnonline.sbccd.cc.ca.us/~tlbrink/F00013204/F00014FDB/
Reviewer: Dr. Gary Popoli - Adjunct Professor of Psychology
 
 Category Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    4.8                                                                                       
Accuracy    4.9                                                                                         
Readability    4.8                                                                                       
Consistency    4.9                                                                                         
Appropriateness    5.0                                                                                           
Interface   n/a                                                                                           
Content usefulness    4.9                                                                                         
Modularity    5.0                                                                                           
Content errors    4.6                                                                                   
Reading level    5.0                                                                                           
Cultural relevance    1.0           



Overall Average    4.4                                                                               




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

This is an excellent textbook. It is very well written and includes an inordinate amount of theory, interesting facts, and content. I recommend this book as the primary text to anyone who teaches Psychology. A little more about cognition or cognitive psychology needs to be added with the behaviorist components at the beginning of the book.



Textbook:  "Psychology in the 21st Century"

Author(s):  OpenLearn website
Textbook URL:
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/2902/formats/print.htm
Reviewer:  Dr. Gary Popoli, Adjunct Professor of Psychology
 
 Category  Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    4.8                                                                                        
Accuracy    5.0                                                                                            
Readability    4.9                                                                                          
Consistency    4.8                                                                                        
Appropriateness    4.9                                                                                          
Interface    n/a                                                                                           
Content usefulness    4.8                                                                                        
Modularity    n/a                                                                                           
Content errors    5.0                                                                                            
Reading level    4.9                                                                                          
Cultural relevance    1.0            



Overall Average    4.4                                                                                




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

I would recommend this book as introductory information to a student interested in studying the directions of psychology in the past and where they may be going in the future. It is not a very detailed or cumbersome book but does provide the reader with some very useful information about psychology. My biggest suggestion would be to continue on with the book. This is a very good foundation for a psychology book but needs much more information.



Textbook: "Reading Evidence"

Author(s): The Open University
Textbook URL: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/DD100_8
Reviewer:
Barbara Mauter - Adjunct Instructor, University College / University of Toledo     
 
 Category  Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    5.0                                                                                           
Accuracy    5.0                                                                                           
Readability    5.0                                                                                           
Consistency    5.0                                                                                           
Appropriateness    4.0                                                                       
Interface    5.0                                                                                           
Content usefulness    4.0                                                                       
Modularity    3.0                                                   

Content errors    5.0                                                                                           
Reading level    5.0                                                                                           
Cultural relevance    4.0                                                                       
Overall Average    4.5                                                                                  




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

I recommend this book as supplementary material for a social science course. It has very good use of visuals and additional links to further information. It also has good step-by-step assessment of the evidence and how one is to interpret the information presented. The textbook also included exercises to complete, to further understanding.



Textbook:  "Starting With Psychology" (2009)

Author(s):  OpenLearn website
Textbook URL: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/file.php/4001/formats/print.htm

Reviewer:  Dr. Gary Popoli, Adjunct Professor of Psychology
 
 Category  Avg*  1.00  2.00  3.00 4.00  5.00
Clarity&Comprehension    4.8                                                                                       
Accuracy    4.8                                                                                       
Readability    5.0                                                                                           
Consistency    5.0                                                                                           
Appropriateness    5.0                                                                                           
Interface    5.0                                                                                           
Content usefulness    5.0                                                                                           
Modularity   n/a                                                                                           
Content errors    5.0                                                                                           
Reading level    5.0                                                                                           
Cultural relevance    5.0                                                                                           
Overall Average    5.0                                                                                           




















*Average of all chapters.  Maximum rating is 5.0.  Top

Reviewer's Comments

I would recommend this book simply as a sort of primer to someone who is thinking about studying psychology. It gives a good perspective of what is covered in psychology and understanding that psychology is not just diagnosing and treating mental illness. It involves understanding behavior and mental processes. This is a very short book but good reading. It gives the reader some very good perspectives as to what psychology entails and explains some of the main topics covered in psychology in addition to some of the contemporary approaches that are used today.


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