Textbooks provide students with a broad introduction to an area of knowledge.

The textbook for this course is Psychology (3rd Ed.) by Burton, Westen and Kowalski, however, numerous psychology textbooks can be found in the library.

They are useful in providing background information to get you started in understanding a particular area.

The key features of textbooks are:

• they contain introductory material that is a good starting point in providing background information;
• they provide coverage of a broad topic in moderate depth; and
• they may also contain exercises and/or practice questions.

Academic books are more specialised in content. they are written by experts in the field, and usually provide in depth coverage of one topic.

Edited books are a collection of chapters, each written by subject specialists and coordinated by an editor. They tend to be more up to date than textbooks, so are a good source of information on significant advances in a given area.

Reference books are resources such as subject dictionaries and encyclopaedias. They provide definitions and background information on a topic and may be good starting points for any research project or problem.

Subject Dictionaries give precise definitions and are useful in defining your topic. They can help with word meanings, spelling, pronunciation and origins.

Subject Encyclopaedias provide a more in-depth introduction and explanation of key concepts within a given discipline. They cover multiple areas of knowledge, but can provide a good overview of the topic.