LibGuides: Assessing and selecting: Assessing books

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Relevance

Information suitable for question and purpose	Does the information fit in with the questions you have and / or with the target audience? Is a book suitable as source for your information needs? Does the book represent a general picture? Does the level meet your requirements? Pay attention to the authority.
Exhaustive	Does the book reflects a complete picture? Do you have to consult additional data?
Up-to-date	Is current and up-to-date information important for your research? What is the year of publication? Is it the most recent edition? Could you expect that there are more recent developments? In case of references to other sources, how recent are these?

Reliability

Authority	Who is the writer and what authority does he have? What is his background and has he published more often? Is there an editor / editorial board? What intention did the author have when writing the publication?
Objectivity	Is the information reported objectively? Does the publication mainly contain facts or opinions? What is the purpose of the book? Informative, opinion-forming, entertainment, ...
*Accuracy*	Are the facts in the book correct? Are opinions substantiated with facts, based on solid grounds?
*Quality of the book*	Does the publication look professional? Who has published the book?
Verifiability	Are facts or data verifiable? Are the references correct? What are the sources? What is the quality of the reference list?

An example

You write a report in which you have to explain the relationship between sensation and perception in the psychological field. You have found the book "Psychology: Core concepts" by the author Zimbardo.

Relevance

This survey explains all important concepts and theories. Different chapters and paragraphs fit in well with the question. The level is also appropriate
The information in the book seems quite complete. It is still advisable to consult more books to get a larger picture and to be able to compare quality and usability
It is the most recent edition, the book describes the current state of art

Reliability

The author is well-known. Philip Zimbardo is an American psychologist and a professor emiritus at Stanford University. He authored various introductory psychology books, textbooks for college students, and other notable works.
It is a textbook published by a well-known publisher: Pearson. The book is informative and has a scientific basis.
There is an extensive bibliography with recent references.
There is an additional website to gain more in-depth knowledge, and instructional videos

Conclusion

It is a good textbook to use on all points