DOKK Library

BC Open Textbooks Review Criteria

Authors Rajiv Jhangiani

License CC-BY-3.0

Plaintext
	
  
BC	
  Open	
  Textbooks	
  Review	
  Criteria:	
  
	
  
       1. Comprehensiveness	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  covers	
  all	
  areas	
  and	
  ideas	
  of	
  the	
  subject	
  appropriately	
  and	
  
           provides	
  an	
  effective	
  index	
  and/or	
  glossary.	
  
	
  
       2. Content	
  Accuracy	
  –	
  Content,	
  including	
  diagrams	
  and	
  other	
  supplementary	
  material,	
  is	
  
           accurate,	
  error-­‐free	
  and	
  unbiased.	
  	
  
	
  
       3. Relevance/Longevity	
  –	
  Content	
  is	
  up-­‐to-­‐date,	
  but	
  not	
  in	
  a	
  way	
  that	
  will	
  quickly	
  make	
  the	
  text	
  
           obsolete	
  within	
  a	
  short	
  period	
  of	
  time.	
  	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  written	
  and/or	
  arranged	
  in	
  such	
  a	
  way	
  
           that	
  necessary	
  updates	
  will	
  be	
  relatively	
  easy	
  and	
  straightforward	
  to	
  implement.	
  
	
  
       4. Clarity	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  written	
  in	
  lucid,	
  accessible	
  prose,	
  and	
  provides	
  adequate	
  context	
  for	
  any	
  
           jargon/technical	
  terminology	
  used.	
  
	
  
       5. Consistency	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  internally	
  consistent	
  in	
  terms	
  of	
  terminology	
  and	
  framework.	
  	
  
           	
  
       6. Modularity	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  easily	
  and	
  readily	
  divisible	
  into	
  smaller	
  reading	
  sections	
  that	
  can	
  be	
  
           assigned	
  at	
  different	
  points	
  within	
  the	
  course	
  (i.e.,	
  enormous	
  blocks	
  of	
  text	
  without	
  
           subheadings	
  should	
  be	
  avoided).	
  	
  The	
  text	
  should	
  not	
  be	
  overly	
  self-­‐referential,	
  and	
  should	
  
           be	
  easily	
  reorganized	
  and	
  realigned	
  with	
  various	
  subunits	
  of	
  a	
  course	
  without	
  presenting	
  
           much	
  disruption	
  to	
  the	
  reader.	
  
	
  
       7. Organization/Structure/Flow	
  –	
  The	
  topics	
  in	
  the	
  text	
  are	
  presented	
  in	
  a	
  logical,	
  clear	
  fashion.	
  
	
  
       8. Interface	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  free	
  of	
  significant	
  interface	
  issues,	
  including	
  navigation	
  problems,	
  
           distortion	
  of	
  images/charts,	
  and	
  any	
  other	
  display	
  features	
  that	
  may	
  distract	
  or	
  confuse	
  the	
  
           reader.	
  
	
  
       9. Grammatical	
  Errors	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  contains	
  no	
  grammatical	
  errors.	
  
	
  
       10. Cultural	
  Relevance	
  –	
  The	
  text	
  is	
  not	
  culturally	
  insensitive	
  or	
  offensive	
  in	
  any	
  way.	
  	
  It	
  should	
  
           make	
  use	
  of	
  examples	
  that	
  are	
  inclusive	
  of	
  a	
  variety	
  of	
  races,	
  ethnicities,	
  and	
  backgrounds.	
  
	
  
       11. Are	
  there	
  any	
  other	
  comments	
  you	
  would	
  like	
  to	
  make	
  about	
  this	
  book,	
  for	
  example,	
  its	
  
           appropriateness	
  in	
  a	
  Canadian	
  context	
  or	
  specific	
  updates	
  you	
  think	
  need	
  to	
  be	
  made?	
  
           	
  
       12. For	
  what	
  level	
  would	
  this	
  text	
  be	
  appropriate	
  (i.e.	
  First	
  Year,	
  Second	
  Year,	
  etc)	
  
           	
  
This	
  content	
  is	
  a	
  derivative	
  of	
  the	
  Peer	
  Review	
  criteria	
  used	
  by	
  Saylor.org,	
  available	
  at	
  
http://www.saylor.org/open-­‐textbook-­‐challenge-­‐peer-­‐review-­‐criteria/,	
  which	
  is	
  a	
  derivative	
  of	
  the	
  
review	
  rubric	
  used	
  by	
  College	
  Open	
  Textbooks,	
  available	
  at	
  
http://collegeopentextbooks.ning.com/page/review-­‐2.	
  
	
  
This	
  work	
  is	
  licensed	
  under	
  a	
  Creative	
  Commons	
  Attribution	
  3.0	
  Unported	
  license.