08832323.2013.869531
Journal of Education for Business
ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
What Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing
Characteristics of AIS Textbooks
Frank Badua, Mohsen Sharifi & Francis Mendez Mediavilla
To cite this article: Frank Badua, Mohsen Sharifi & Francis Mendez Mediavilla (2014) What
Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing Characteristics of AIS Textbooks, Journal of
Education for Business, 89:5, 257-262, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2013.869531
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:42
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 257–262, 2014
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2013.869531
What Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing
Characteristics of AIS Textbooks
Frank Badua
Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
Mohsen Sharifi
California State University, Fullerton, California, USA
Francis Mendez Mediavilla
Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
The factors involved in the selection of accounting textbooks are under-investigated, and
most of the research is survey-based, largely ignoring the information that could be analyzed
by direct inspection of textbook content and its impact on textbook selection. In this study
the authors fill this lacuna by deploying content analysis of the textbook content and devising
new measures of textbook quality that may impact their ultimate selection by accounting
information systems (AIS) instructors. These novel measures are discussed in the light of
textbook market share information gleaned from three sources: a survey of AIS instructors,
and executives at two leading educational publishers. The authors conclude with a
consideration of pedagogical policy implications of the findings.
Keywords: AIS, content, selection, texts, topics
Agrawal, Chakraborty, Gollapudi, Kannan, and Kenthapadi
(2012) stated “Textbooks are . . . most consistently associated with gains in student learning” (p. 1). Unfortunately,
Bargate (2012) noted, “there is limited empirical research
that focuses on the selection criteria used by accounting
faculty when prescribing textbooks” (p. 114). Despite
repeated calls for more research into accounting textbook
adoption (Cornachione, 2004; Ferguson, Collison, Power,
& Stevenson, 2007; Stevens, Clow, McConkey, & Silver,
2010) the literature remains scant, comprised mostly of survey studies, which only indirectly measure textbook attributes. This lack is exacerbated in accounting information
systems (AIS), by AIS instructors’ dependence on textbooks (Badua, Sharifi, & Watkins, 2011; Doost, McCombs,
& Sharifi, 2002). Therefore this paper deploys content analysis of AIS textbooks, devising new objective measures of
textbook quality that impact their selection by instructors,
Correspondence should be addressed to Frank Badua, Lamar University, College of Business, 4400 MLK Parkway, Beaumont, TX 77710,
USA. E-mail: frank.badua@lamar.edu
and guides how instructors could best use the chosen
textbook.
Survey-based research by K. J. Smith and DeRidder
(1997); Mehta, Mehta, and Aun (1999); Stevens et al.
(2007); and Elbeck, Williams, Peters, and Frankforter
(2009) all found that textbook currency is a highly ranked
determining factor in textbook adoption decisions. Plausibly, this results from constant evolution in business, the
economy, generally accepted accounting principles, and
technology (Badua, 2008).
Other surveys focusing on the impact of ancillary material on textbook adoption decisions yield mixed findings.
Earlier research by DeRidder (1997), K. J. Smith and
Muller (1998), and Mehta et al. (1999) reported that ancillary materials were ranked low among criteria for the textbook selection decision. In contrast, later research by
Stevens et al. (2007) and Elbeck et al. (2009), which found
that availability of ancillary materials was a highly ranked
determinant of textbook adoption. This may be a function
of increased availability of such material, particularly those
in digital format (Bargate, 2012).
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
258
F. BADUA ET AL.
Bargate (2012) took this research in a new direction,
focusing on the content of the main body of the textbook
itself, surveying faculty on the effect of innate textbook
characteristics on the adoption decision. Bargate found that
clarity and comprehensibility primarily drove textbook
adoption.
In this study we followed Bargate (2012), focusing on
textbook content, not currency or supplements. Currency is
irrelevant when instructors have the latest editions of textbooks, and Toerner (2006) stated that students ignore
supplemental materials. Thus, this article focuses on characteristics that more directly impact student learning. Moreover, while Bargate relied on surveys, this paper will
measure textbook characteristics by direct inspection. This
research method yielded objective rather subjective measures of textbook attributes, making this paper distinct from
previous research using faculty and student surveys.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
Six AIS textbooks provided the data. The texts used were
the latest and second latest editions of three widely used
AIS books, first-authored by Romney, Hall, and Gelinas.
According to correspondence with executives at two academic publishing firms, Wiley and Cengage (J. Cruz, personal communication, March 27, 2013; K. Dan, personal
communication, March 27, 2013), as well as a survey conducted at the AIS Educators’ Conference in 2012 (Prerumoso, 2012) these three textbooks are the most widely
adopted, accounting for 70% of the AIS textbook market.
Romney is consistently cited as the top seller, with Gelinas
and Hall cited as being in second and third place, respectively (J. Cruz, personal communication, March 27, 2013;
K. Dan, personal communication, March 27, 2013), and in
fourth and second place, respectively, by Prerumoso
(2012). Here we give greater credence to Romney being
cited as the top seller with Gelinas and Hall in second and
third place, respectively (J. Cruz, personal communication,
TABLE 1
Summary of Findings
Author
Romneya
Gelinasb
Hallc
Bagranoffd
Turnere
Hurtf
a
Romney and Steinbart (2012).
Gelinas, Dull, and Wheeler (2012).
c
Hall (2011).
d
Bagranoff, Simkin, and Norman (2009).
e
Turner and Weickgennant (2008).
f
Hurt (2012).
b
Market share
34%
20%
15%
7%
6%
5%
March 27, 2013; K. Dan, personal communication, March
27, 2013). The findings of that study are summarized in
Table 1.
Texts will be used to refer to the specific editions (of
which there are six in the data population), and book or textbook refer to the three textbook series (Romney, Hall, and
Gelinas). Data were gathered from the table of contents and
indices of the texts, as a means of content analysis, a
research method in which the object of study is text, and
the data of interest may be any component part of a
(usually) written verbal artifact, such as words, phrases, or
sentences. The analysis was used for various research
objectives including identifying the main characteristics
and foci of communications or the attributes and intentions
of the communicator (Berelson, 1971).
Content analysis has been used extensively in accounting.
For example it has been used in accounting historical research
(Previts & Brown, 1993), to investigate corporate communications (Abrahamson & Amir, 1996; M. Smith & Taffler,
2000), to evaluate corporate disclosure (Cormier & Mangan,
1999; Hughes, 2000; Wiseman, 1982), and to characterize
accounting pedagogy as reflected in textbooks (Tietz, 2007).
To facilitate content analysis, a list of AIS topics was
created. The pages in which these topics were mentioned
or discussed in each of the six texts in the population, as
indicated in the tables of content and indices, were
recorded.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Measures were devised to determine desirability or usefulness. These measures included emphasis, diversity, integration, and sequentiality.
Emphasis was defined as the extent to which a textbook
stressed either conceptual or technical AIS topics. The distinction between conceptual and technical topics follows
roughly the dialectic established in classical Western
philosophy, as stated in the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (2013).
Conceptual knowledge explains the principles of a subject, linking different aspects of that subject, and relating
them to its essential objectives. Technical knowledge
guides performance on particular tasks found in professions
based on the subject, and is intimately tied to the use of
physical technology used in performing tasks.
Conceptual AIS topics comprise its basic concepts and
objectives, the relationship between digital and manual
accounting, the role of accounting professionals in AISrelated endeavors, and the models that guide those professionals. These topics are usually abstractions, without physical form. Examples of conceptual topics are the various
business processes (i.e., transaction cycles) that group
together various accounting transactions and management
procedures, the system documentation techniques used to
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WHAT MAKES A TOP-SELLING TEXTBOOK?
depict these processes, and most topics related to controls
and to systems design and development.
Technical AIS topics consist of knowledge about the
preferred way to use computer and telecommunications
technology for accounting tasks. These topics are linked to
physical artifacts. Hence, hardware falls under this definition, as they are tangible objects, but even software, a set of
abstract instructions, is classified because it is implemented
by specific hardware designed to receive and execute those
instructions. Examples include internet telecommunication
protocols; specific hardware or software such as different
computers and peripherals, programming languages, systems auditing and engineering tools; and specific methods
of implementing controls in certain technological environments, including methods employed by cybercriminals to
overcome these.
Certain topics are both conceptual and technical, as they
contain knowledge related to both the fundamentals of AIS,
and to more technologically grounded matters. These
include enterprise resource planning systems, data communications within and between networks, the relationship
between systems documentation models such as the entity
relationship/resource-event-agent model and their implementation as databases, and certain aspects of computer
security, systems analysis, and project management for systems development.
A text’s emphasis on conceptual versus technical topics
was operationalized as the proportion of pages devoted to a
textbook topic that was defined as conceptual or technical.
Page counts must be interpreted with caution as certain
topics may be more succinctly explained than others. Some
conceptual topics may be fully explained in one page, but
technical topics, such as instructions for the use of hardware
or software, may entail several pages of images and explanatory text. Nevertheless, page, lines of text, and sentence
counts have been used widely in content analysis of documents for the purpose of determining emphasis even when
these documents contained different formats of disclosure
(Neu, Warsame & Pedwell, 1998; Patten, 2002; Tuwajiri,
Christensen & Hughes, 2004).
A comparison of the classifications made by the authors
led to an interrater agreement rate of 92%, or 156 of 170
259
topics. The numbers of pages focused on certain topics that
were deemed to be both conceptual and technical in nature
were divided equally between the conceptual and technical
page counts. The page counts and the proportions of pages
discussing conceptual and technical topics for all texts in
the population are shown in Table 2.
The results reveal that the ratios of conceptual to technical topics in all three texts is consistent between the latest
two editions, and that the Hall and Gelinas texts have a
greater proportion of pages devoted to conceptual topics
than the Romney text. The Hall and Gelinas texts allocated
86% (14%) and 85% (15%) of their pages to conceptual
(technical) topics, respectively. On the other hand, the
Romney text assigned 75% and 25% to conceptual and
technical topics, respectively.
These findings show that there is a greater focus on conceptual topics than technical topics, and that instructors preferring a greater proportion of technical topics could choose
the Romney text than the Hall or Gelinas texts. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make any claims beyond these two
initial statements, as there is no consensus among stakeholders in the AIS field as to whether a conceptual, technical, or perfectly balanced emphasis would be optimal.
Perfect balance between conceptual and technical topics
seems ideal, but measures of emphasis, such as page counts,
are imprecise proxies. Furthermore, different stakeholders
desire different emphases. Historically, AIS curricula have
been comprised of conceptual and technical topics (Badua,
2008). However, Welch, Madison, and Welch (2010) documented diverging demand for information systems related
conceptual and technical knowledge among audit firms versus non–audit firms and government entities, with the former seeking students with more software knowledge
(technical), and the latter employing those with more data
analysis and project management skills (conceptual). To
add to the controversy, in AIS’s related field, management
information systems (MIS), there has been a recent call for
more conceptual coverage in the curriculum. Gackowski
(2004, 2010) have criticized the MIS curriculum in general
and MIS textbooks in particular as “overly technology
laden but lacking the fundamentals” (Gackowski, 2010,
p. 169).
TABLE 2
Page Counts and Proportions of Pages Discussing Conceptual and Technical Topics for All Texts
Pages
Romney 11
Romney 12
C
C
T
T
Hall 7
C
Hall 8
T
C
Gelinas 8
T
C
T
Gelinas 9
C
T
No. of pages per topic type
354
128
412
132
668.5
107.5
730.5
122.5
402.5
77.5
434.5
66.5
% of pages per topic type
73.44% 26.56% 75.74% 24.26% 86.15% 13.85% 85.64% 14.36% 83.85% 16.15% 86.73% 13.27%
Ave. % of pages discussing conceptual
74.59%
85.89%
85.29%
topics, both editions
Ave. % of pages discussing technical
25.41%
14.11%
14.71%
topics, both editions
Note: C D conceptual; T D technical.
260
F. BADUA ET AL.
Diversity of topic coverage is the extent the discussion is
more evenly distributed among a broader array of topics,
operationalized as the Gini score computed over the number of pages devoted to each topic and its relationship to
the total number of pages devoted to that topic and related
topics in a topic cluster. The Gini metric is typically computed as DAPS were estimated by:
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
100
X Xi 2
N
X
where,
Xi D N .
That is, the Gini index equals 100 times the sum square
of a distribution of proportions, which together make up
one whole. It is named for the Italian economist and statistician, Stigler (1994), who developed it as an index of diversity. Small Xi is the number of pages discussing a topic,
and N is the number of pages of all related topics forming a
topic cluster.
Computed thus, the metric generates a score on a 100point scale that is lower (higher) for distributions that are
more (less) equal and diverse (Stigler, 1994). However, to
have a Gini score that is increasing in topic diversity, the
scores presented in Table 3 were computed as the complement of the Gini metric, that is:
1 ¡ 100
where,
X
X Xi 2
N
Xi D N .
As may be seen from Table 3, the three topic clusters
that were most diversely treated throughout the population
were transaction processing with a Gini score of .86, the
relationship between AIS and accountants (.82), and introduction to data processing (.77).
The text which consistently appears as having the most
diverse discussion of these topics is the Hall text, which
was shown to have the highest Gini score in nine topic clusters (four in the seventh edition, five in the eighth edition),
followed by the Gelinas text with eight maximal Ginis
(three in the eighth edition, five in the ninth edition), and
with the Romney text having the least diverse, or most
focused coverage of topics with six maximal Ginis (four in
the 11th edition, two in the 12th).
It is difficult to state whether diversity or concentration
is best. A diverse set of AIS knowledge and skills may be
valued differently by different employers, with more
focused and detailed expertise demanded by audit firms,
and a broader, though perhaps less in-depth appreciation
sought by other firms. Similarly, instructors of lower level
undergraduate AIS courses might structure their courses as
a survey of the subject, while instructors of senior-level or
master of accountancy AIS courses, whose graduates are
certified public accountant (CPA) candidates, would teach
more specialized knowledge in greater detail.
Integration is operationalized as the number of chapters
in which a topic is discussed. Discussion of a topic in multiple chapters may be viewed as positive because it provides
a more comprehensive and cohesive narrative than a text
that treats topics in isolation, and because repetition reinforces student learning.
TABLE 3
Topic Clusters
Average Gini
Topic
AIS and accountants
Elements and procedures of GLbased accounting systems
Technology of AIS
Documentation
Introduction to data processing
Transaction processing
Databases and data modeling
Control and security in AIS
Control for computerized AIS
Computer fraud and security
Auditing computerized AIS
Systems study: Planning and analysis
Systems study: Systems design
Systems implementation and
maintenance
Internet and world wide web
Maximum Gini
All texts
Cohort 1
Cohort 2
Cohort 1
0.82
0.68
0.82
0.67
0.82
0.69
Gelinas 8 (0.85)
Romney 12 (0.77)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Gelinas 8 (0.77)
0.7
0.7
0.77
0.86
0.75
0.64
0.61
0.72
0.68
0.36
0.76
0.68
0.65
0.69
0.76
0.85
0.73
0.69
0.66
0.69
0.67
0.37
0.72
0.7
0.75
0.71
0.78
0.87
0.77
0.59
0.58
0.74
0.69
0.35
0.8
0.65
Gelinas 8 (0.82)
Hall 7 (0.73)
Gelinas 8 (0.84)
Gelinas 8 (0.85)
Hall 7 (0.81)
Romney 11 (0.75)
Hall 7 (0.67)
Gelinas 8 (0.82)
Hall 7 (0.76)
Romney 11 (0.54)
Hall 7 (0.87)
Romney 11 (0.76)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.79)
Gelinas 9 (0.84)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.71)
Hall 8 (0.67)
Gelinas 9 (0.81)
Hall 8 (0.71)
Gelinas 9 (0.44)
Gelinas 9 (0.76)
Romney 12 (0.78)
0.76
0.79
0.72
Romney 11 (0.82)
Romney 12 (0.8)
Note: AIS D accounting information systems; GL D general ledger.
Cohort 2
WHAT MAKES A TOP-SELLING TEXTBOOK?
261
TABLE 4
Summary of the Average Number of Chapters Devoted to Each Topic
Item
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Secular ave. # of ch. per topic
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 1
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 2
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 3
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 4
Romney 11
Romney 12
Hall 7
Hall 8
Gelinas 8
Gelinas 9
1.06
6
0
0
0
1.17
11
5
0
0
1.22
20
4
1
0
1.19
15
5
1
0
1.17
15
0
0
0
1.12
8
2
1
0
Table 4 summarizes the average number of chapters
devoted to each topic, as well as the number of topics discussed in greater than 1–4 chapters for each of the two editions of the three texts in the study.
As can be seen from Table 4, the Hall texts have the
highest integration measure, with an average of 1.21
between the two editions included in this data set. The Gelinas and Romney texts are the second most and least integrated, respectively, with average integration measures of
1.14 and 1.12. The Hall text also leads the other two in
topic integration whether the latest editions (Romney 12th,
Hall eighth, and Gelinas ninth) or the second to the latest
editions (Romney 11th, Hall seventh, and Gelinas eighth)
were compared. Curiously, although the Romney text
increased its level of topic integration between editions, the
integration measures of the Hall and Gelinas texts declined
between editions.
Sequentiality is the proximity of subsequent mentions of
a topic to the chapter where it is first discussed, operationalized as the number of chapters between the initial mention
of a topic and the next chapter where it is subsequently discussed. For topics that are mentioned in more than two
chapters, the average number of chapters between the chapters in which the topic is discussed is used. In either case,
the smaller that number, the more sequential the text.
Sequentiality allows the reader to review basic information
about a topic easily when that topic is mentioned again or
its relationship to other topics is discussed, assuming the
text is read in chapter order.
Table 5 shows the number of topics that were mentioned in more than one chapter, and the average
number of intervening chapters between those mentions
(chapter distance).
As can be seen from Table 5, the Gelinas texts had the
smallest average chapter distance (4.31), followed by the
Hall texts with 5.29, while the Romney texts were the least
sequential with an average chapter distance of 6.46. It
should be noted that if the latest editions were compared,
the Romney text (12th edition) would be the most
sequential.
CONCLUSION
When the findings are compared with the market shares of
the texts, patterns of preference emerge. The top-selling
Romney text has consistently the greatest proportion of
technical topics, and the most focused topic selection. This
suggests that instructors adopt a text that prepares the student for more specific, procedural, technologically augmented tasks encountered in the workplace. They discount
a broader, more discursive treatment of topics in favor of a
narrower focus on a small number of relatively more important topics.
The findings regarding integration and sequentiality are
ambiguous. The differences in the integration metric are
very small, on average ranging from 1.12 to 1.21, and
instructors may find this number to be insignificant.
Sequentiality is also hard to assess because instructors may
base their selection on Romney’s historical nonsequentiality, or its most recent, maximally sequential edition. Therefore, future researchers should focus on finer measures of
integration, and testing the selection relevance of sequentiality on a larger sample. Another research ramification
emanates from the apparent dissonance between calls for a
greater focus on conceptual topics coming from MIS and
the technical orientation inherent in AIS instructors’
choices.
The findings indicate several pedagogical implications.
Whether a text is more conceptual or technical, instructors
have to incorporate other material from other sources to
provide a more balanced curriculum. Diverse texts might
be taught with greater sensitivity to topic prioritization.
Courses using texts that are less sequential have to make
TABLE 5
Number of Topics Mentioned in More Than One Chapter, and the Average Number of Intervening Chapters Between Those Mentions
(Chapter Distance)
Text
Topics mentioned in > 1 chapter
Ave. chapter distances for topics mentioned in > 1 chapter
Romney 11
Romney 12
Hall 7
Hall 8
Gelinas 8
Gelinas 9
6
9
11
3.91
20
5.32
17
5.25
15
3.53
8
5.08
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262
F. BADUA ET AL.
use of periodic review sessions, particularly immediately
preceding midterms and finals.
Thought should be given to the text appropriate to the
level at which AIS is taught, whether at the undergraduate
level catering to students who are going to work as management of their organizations, or at the graduate level with a
view to training CPA-track students. Again, differences in
textbook characteristics, particularly in the balance of conceptual and technical material, will have to be carefully
considered. Instructors of lower level undergraduate AIS
courses would choose more diverse, conceptual texts, while
instructors of upper level CPA track courses, would use
more focused, technical texts.
Therefore, by employing content analysis instead of faculty or student surveys, in this study we developed new metrics that objectively rather than subjectively characterize
qualities that influence AIS textbook adoption. These metrics also guide instructors of various types of AIS courses,
in choosing textbooks, and the manner in which they might
administer the course given a particular textbook choice.
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ISSN: 0883-2323 (Print) 1940-3356 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vjeb20
What Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing
Characteristics of AIS Textbooks
Frank Badua, Mohsen Sharifi & Francis Mendez Mediavilla
To cite this article: Frank Badua, Mohsen Sharifi & Francis Mendez Mediavilla (2014) What
Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing Characteristics of AIS Textbooks, Journal of
Education for Business, 89:5, 257-262, DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2013.869531
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2013.869531
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Date: 11 January 2016, At: 20:42
JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS, 89: 257–262, 2014
Copyright Ó Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0883-2323 print / 1940-3356 online
DOI: 10.1080/08832323.2013.869531
What Makes a Top-Selling Textbook? Comparing
Characteristics of AIS Textbooks
Frank Badua
Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, USA
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
Mohsen Sharifi
California State University, Fullerton, California, USA
Francis Mendez Mediavilla
Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA
The factors involved in the selection of accounting textbooks are under-investigated, and
most of the research is survey-based, largely ignoring the information that could be analyzed
by direct inspection of textbook content and its impact on textbook selection. In this study
the authors fill this lacuna by deploying content analysis of the textbook content and devising
new measures of textbook quality that may impact their ultimate selection by accounting
information systems (AIS) instructors. These novel measures are discussed in the light of
textbook market share information gleaned from three sources: a survey of AIS instructors,
and executives at two leading educational publishers. The authors conclude with a
consideration of pedagogical policy implications of the findings.
Keywords: AIS, content, selection, texts, topics
Agrawal, Chakraborty, Gollapudi, Kannan, and Kenthapadi
(2012) stated “Textbooks are . . . most consistently associated with gains in student learning” (p. 1). Unfortunately,
Bargate (2012) noted, “there is limited empirical research
that focuses on the selection criteria used by accounting
faculty when prescribing textbooks” (p. 114). Despite
repeated calls for more research into accounting textbook
adoption (Cornachione, 2004; Ferguson, Collison, Power,
& Stevenson, 2007; Stevens, Clow, McConkey, & Silver,
2010) the literature remains scant, comprised mostly of survey studies, which only indirectly measure textbook attributes. This lack is exacerbated in accounting information
systems (AIS), by AIS instructors’ dependence on textbooks (Badua, Sharifi, & Watkins, 2011; Doost, McCombs,
& Sharifi, 2002). Therefore this paper deploys content analysis of AIS textbooks, devising new objective measures of
textbook quality that impact their selection by instructors,
Correspondence should be addressed to Frank Badua, Lamar University, College of Business, 4400 MLK Parkway, Beaumont, TX 77710,
USA. E-mail: frank.badua@lamar.edu
and guides how instructors could best use the chosen
textbook.
Survey-based research by K. J. Smith and DeRidder
(1997); Mehta, Mehta, and Aun (1999); Stevens et al.
(2007); and Elbeck, Williams, Peters, and Frankforter
(2009) all found that textbook currency is a highly ranked
determining factor in textbook adoption decisions. Plausibly, this results from constant evolution in business, the
economy, generally accepted accounting principles, and
technology (Badua, 2008).
Other surveys focusing on the impact of ancillary material on textbook adoption decisions yield mixed findings.
Earlier research by DeRidder (1997), K. J. Smith and
Muller (1998), and Mehta et al. (1999) reported that ancillary materials were ranked low among criteria for the textbook selection decision. In contrast, later research by
Stevens et al. (2007) and Elbeck et al. (2009), which found
that availability of ancillary materials was a highly ranked
determinant of textbook adoption. This may be a function
of increased availability of such material, particularly those
in digital format (Bargate, 2012).
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
258
F. BADUA ET AL.
Bargate (2012) took this research in a new direction,
focusing on the content of the main body of the textbook
itself, surveying faculty on the effect of innate textbook
characteristics on the adoption decision. Bargate found that
clarity and comprehensibility primarily drove textbook
adoption.
In this study we followed Bargate (2012), focusing on
textbook content, not currency or supplements. Currency is
irrelevant when instructors have the latest editions of textbooks, and Toerner (2006) stated that students ignore
supplemental materials. Thus, this article focuses on characteristics that more directly impact student learning. Moreover, while Bargate relied on surveys, this paper will
measure textbook characteristics by direct inspection. This
research method yielded objective rather subjective measures of textbook attributes, making this paper distinct from
previous research using faculty and student surveys.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
Six AIS textbooks provided the data. The texts used were
the latest and second latest editions of three widely used
AIS books, first-authored by Romney, Hall, and Gelinas.
According to correspondence with executives at two academic publishing firms, Wiley and Cengage (J. Cruz, personal communication, March 27, 2013; K. Dan, personal
communication, March 27, 2013), as well as a survey conducted at the AIS Educators’ Conference in 2012 (Prerumoso, 2012) these three textbooks are the most widely
adopted, accounting for 70% of the AIS textbook market.
Romney is consistently cited as the top seller, with Gelinas
and Hall cited as being in second and third place, respectively (J. Cruz, personal communication, March 27, 2013;
K. Dan, personal communication, March 27, 2013), and in
fourth and second place, respectively, by Prerumoso
(2012). Here we give greater credence to Romney being
cited as the top seller with Gelinas and Hall in second and
third place, respectively (J. Cruz, personal communication,
TABLE 1
Summary of Findings
Author
Romneya
Gelinasb
Hallc
Bagranoffd
Turnere
Hurtf
a
Romney and Steinbart (2012).
Gelinas, Dull, and Wheeler (2012).
c
Hall (2011).
d
Bagranoff, Simkin, and Norman (2009).
e
Turner and Weickgennant (2008).
f
Hurt (2012).
b
Market share
34%
20%
15%
7%
6%
5%
March 27, 2013; K. Dan, personal communication, March
27, 2013). The findings of that study are summarized in
Table 1.
Texts will be used to refer to the specific editions (of
which there are six in the data population), and book or textbook refer to the three textbook series (Romney, Hall, and
Gelinas). Data were gathered from the table of contents and
indices of the texts, as a means of content analysis, a
research method in which the object of study is text, and
the data of interest may be any component part of a
(usually) written verbal artifact, such as words, phrases, or
sentences. The analysis was used for various research
objectives including identifying the main characteristics
and foci of communications or the attributes and intentions
of the communicator (Berelson, 1971).
Content analysis has been used extensively in accounting.
For example it has been used in accounting historical research
(Previts & Brown, 1993), to investigate corporate communications (Abrahamson & Amir, 1996; M. Smith & Taffler,
2000), to evaluate corporate disclosure (Cormier & Mangan,
1999; Hughes, 2000; Wiseman, 1982), and to characterize
accounting pedagogy as reflected in textbooks (Tietz, 2007).
To facilitate content analysis, a list of AIS topics was
created. The pages in which these topics were mentioned
or discussed in each of the six texts in the population, as
indicated in the tables of content and indices, were
recorded.
ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
Measures were devised to determine desirability or usefulness. These measures included emphasis, diversity, integration, and sequentiality.
Emphasis was defined as the extent to which a textbook
stressed either conceptual or technical AIS topics. The distinction between conceptual and technical topics follows
roughly the dialectic established in classical Western
philosophy, as stated in the Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy (2013).
Conceptual knowledge explains the principles of a subject, linking different aspects of that subject, and relating
them to its essential objectives. Technical knowledge
guides performance on particular tasks found in professions
based on the subject, and is intimately tied to the use of
physical technology used in performing tasks.
Conceptual AIS topics comprise its basic concepts and
objectives, the relationship between digital and manual
accounting, the role of accounting professionals in AISrelated endeavors, and the models that guide those professionals. These topics are usually abstractions, without physical form. Examples of conceptual topics are the various
business processes (i.e., transaction cycles) that group
together various accounting transactions and management
procedures, the system documentation techniques used to
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WHAT MAKES A TOP-SELLING TEXTBOOK?
depict these processes, and most topics related to controls
and to systems design and development.
Technical AIS topics consist of knowledge about the
preferred way to use computer and telecommunications
technology for accounting tasks. These topics are linked to
physical artifacts. Hence, hardware falls under this definition, as they are tangible objects, but even software, a set of
abstract instructions, is classified because it is implemented
by specific hardware designed to receive and execute those
instructions. Examples include internet telecommunication
protocols; specific hardware or software such as different
computers and peripherals, programming languages, systems auditing and engineering tools; and specific methods
of implementing controls in certain technological environments, including methods employed by cybercriminals to
overcome these.
Certain topics are both conceptual and technical, as they
contain knowledge related to both the fundamentals of AIS,
and to more technologically grounded matters. These
include enterprise resource planning systems, data communications within and between networks, the relationship
between systems documentation models such as the entity
relationship/resource-event-agent model and their implementation as databases, and certain aspects of computer
security, systems analysis, and project management for systems development.
A text’s emphasis on conceptual versus technical topics
was operationalized as the proportion of pages devoted to a
textbook topic that was defined as conceptual or technical.
Page counts must be interpreted with caution as certain
topics may be more succinctly explained than others. Some
conceptual topics may be fully explained in one page, but
technical topics, such as instructions for the use of hardware
or software, may entail several pages of images and explanatory text. Nevertheless, page, lines of text, and sentence
counts have been used widely in content analysis of documents for the purpose of determining emphasis even when
these documents contained different formats of disclosure
(Neu, Warsame & Pedwell, 1998; Patten, 2002; Tuwajiri,
Christensen & Hughes, 2004).
A comparison of the classifications made by the authors
led to an interrater agreement rate of 92%, or 156 of 170
259
topics. The numbers of pages focused on certain topics that
were deemed to be both conceptual and technical in nature
were divided equally between the conceptual and technical
page counts. The page counts and the proportions of pages
discussing conceptual and technical topics for all texts in
the population are shown in Table 2.
The results reveal that the ratios of conceptual to technical topics in all three texts is consistent between the latest
two editions, and that the Hall and Gelinas texts have a
greater proportion of pages devoted to conceptual topics
than the Romney text. The Hall and Gelinas texts allocated
86% (14%) and 85% (15%) of their pages to conceptual
(technical) topics, respectively. On the other hand, the
Romney text assigned 75% and 25% to conceptual and
technical topics, respectively.
These findings show that there is a greater focus on conceptual topics than technical topics, and that instructors preferring a greater proportion of technical topics could choose
the Romney text than the Hall or Gelinas texts. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make any claims beyond these two
initial statements, as there is no consensus among stakeholders in the AIS field as to whether a conceptual, technical, or perfectly balanced emphasis would be optimal.
Perfect balance between conceptual and technical topics
seems ideal, but measures of emphasis, such as page counts,
are imprecise proxies. Furthermore, different stakeholders
desire different emphases. Historically, AIS curricula have
been comprised of conceptual and technical topics (Badua,
2008). However, Welch, Madison, and Welch (2010) documented diverging demand for information systems related
conceptual and technical knowledge among audit firms versus non–audit firms and government entities, with the former seeking students with more software knowledge
(technical), and the latter employing those with more data
analysis and project management skills (conceptual). To
add to the controversy, in AIS’s related field, management
information systems (MIS), there has been a recent call for
more conceptual coverage in the curriculum. Gackowski
(2004, 2010) have criticized the MIS curriculum in general
and MIS textbooks in particular as “overly technology
laden but lacking the fundamentals” (Gackowski, 2010,
p. 169).
TABLE 2
Page Counts and Proportions of Pages Discussing Conceptual and Technical Topics for All Texts
Pages
Romney 11
Romney 12
C
C
T
T
Hall 7
C
Hall 8
T
C
Gelinas 8
T
C
T
Gelinas 9
C
T
No. of pages per topic type
354
128
412
132
668.5
107.5
730.5
122.5
402.5
77.5
434.5
66.5
% of pages per topic type
73.44% 26.56% 75.74% 24.26% 86.15% 13.85% 85.64% 14.36% 83.85% 16.15% 86.73% 13.27%
Ave. % of pages discussing conceptual
74.59%
85.89%
85.29%
topics, both editions
Ave. % of pages discussing technical
25.41%
14.11%
14.71%
topics, both editions
Note: C D conceptual; T D technical.
260
F. BADUA ET AL.
Diversity of topic coverage is the extent the discussion is
more evenly distributed among a broader array of topics,
operationalized as the Gini score computed over the number of pages devoted to each topic and its relationship to
the total number of pages devoted to that topic and related
topics in a topic cluster. The Gini metric is typically computed as DAPS were estimated by:
Downloaded by [Universitas Maritim Raja Ali Haji] at 20:42 11 January 2016
100
X Xi 2
N
X
where,
Xi D N .
That is, the Gini index equals 100 times the sum square
of a distribution of proportions, which together make up
one whole. It is named for the Italian economist and statistician, Stigler (1994), who developed it as an index of diversity. Small Xi is the number of pages discussing a topic,
and N is the number of pages of all related topics forming a
topic cluster.
Computed thus, the metric generates a score on a 100point scale that is lower (higher) for distributions that are
more (less) equal and diverse (Stigler, 1994). However, to
have a Gini score that is increasing in topic diversity, the
scores presented in Table 3 were computed as the complement of the Gini metric, that is:
1 ¡ 100
where,
X
X Xi 2
N
Xi D N .
As may be seen from Table 3, the three topic clusters
that were most diversely treated throughout the population
were transaction processing with a Gini score of .86, the
relationship between AIS and accountants (.82), and introduction to data processing (.77).
The text which consistently appears as having the most
diverse discussion of these topics is the Hall text, which
was shown to have the highest Gini score in nine topic clusters (four in the seventh edition, five in the eighth edition),
followed by the Gelinas text with eight maximal Ginis
(three in the eighth edition, five in the ninth edition), and
with the Romney text having the least diverse, or most
focused coverage of topics with six maximal Ginis (four in
the 11th edition, two in the 12th).
It is difficult to state whether diversity or concentration
is best. A diverse set of AIS knowledge and skills may be
valued differently by different employers, with more
focused and detailed expertise demanded by audit firms,
and a broader, though perhaps less in-depth appreciation
sought by other firms. Similarly, instructors of lower level
undergraduate AIS courses might structure their courses as
a survey of the subject, while instructors of senior-level or
master of accountancy AIS courses, whose graduates are
certified public accountant (CPA) candidates, would teach
more specialized knowledge in greater detail.
Integration is operationalized as the number of chapters
in which a topic is discussed. Discussion of a topic in multiple chapters may be viewed as positive because it provides
a more comprehensive and cohesive narrative than a text
that treats topics in isolation, and because repetition reinforces student learning.
TABLE 3
Topic Clusters
Average Gini
Topic
AIS and accountants
Elements and procedures of GLbased accounting systems
Technology of AIS
Documentation
Introduction to data processing
Transaction processing
Databases and data modeling
Control and security in AIS
Control for computerized AIS
Computer fraud and security
Auditing computerized AIS
Systems study: Planning and analysis
Systems study: Systems design
Systems implementation and
maintenance
Internet and world wide web
Maximum Gini
All texts
Cohort 1
Cohort 2
Cohort 1
0.82
0.68
0.82
0.67
0.82
0.69
Gelinas 8 (0.85)
Romney 12 (0.77)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Gelinas 8 (0.77)
0.7
0.7
0.77
0.86
0.75
0.64
0.61
0.72
0.68
0.36
0.76
0.68
0.65
0.69
0.76
0.85
0.73
0.69
0.66
0.69
0.67
0.37
0.72
0.7
0.75
0.71
0.78
0.87
0.77
0.59
0.58
0.74
0.69
0.35
0.8
0.65
Gelinas 8 (0.82)
Hall 7 (0.73)
Gelinas 8 (0.84)
Gelinas 8 (0.85)
Hall 7 (0.81)
Romney 11 (0.75)
Hall 7 (0.67)
Gelinas 8 (0.82)
Hall 7 (0.76)
Romney 11 (0.54)
Hall 7 (0.87)
Romney 11 (0.76)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.79)
Gelinas 9 (0.84)
Gelinas 9 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.88)
Hall 8 (0.71)
Hall 8 (0.67)
Gelinas 9 (0.81)
Hall 8 (0.71)
Gelinas 9 (0.44)
Gelinas 9 (0.76)
Romney 12 (0.78)
0.76
0.79
0.72
Romney 11 (0.82)
Romney 12 (0.8)
Note: AIS D accounting information systems; GL D general ledger.
Cohort 2
WHAT MAKES A TOP-SELLING TEXTBOOK?
261
TABLE 4
Summary of the Average Number of Chapters Devoted to Each Topic
Item
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Secular ave. # of ch. per topic
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 1
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 2
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 3
# of topics w/ ch. disc. > 4
Romney 11
Romney 12
Hall 7
Hall 8
Gelinas 8
Gelinas 9
1.06
6
0
0
0
1.17
11
5
0
0
1.22
20
4
1
0
1.19
15
5
1
0
1.17
15
0
0
0
1.12
8
2
1
0
Table 4 summarizes the average number of chapters
devoted to each topic, as well as the number of topics discussed in greater than 1–4 chapters for each of the two editions of the three texts in the study.
As can be seen from Table 4, the Hall texts have the
highest integration measure, with an average of 1.21
between the two editions included in this data set. The Gelinas and Romney texts are the second most and least integrated, respectively, with average integration measures of
1.14 and 1.12. The Hall text also leads the other two in
topic integration whether the latest editions (Romney 12th,
Hall eighth, and Gelinas ninth) or the second to the latest
editions (Romney 11th, Hall seventh, and Gelinas eighth)
were compared. Curiously, although the Romney text
increased its level of topic integration between editions, the
integration measures of the Hall and Gelinas texts declined
between editions.
Sequentiality is the proximity of subsequent mentions of
a topic to the chapter where it is first discussed, operationalized as the number of chapters between the initial mention
of a topic and the next chapter where it is subsequently discussed. For topics that are mentioned in more than two
chapters, the average number of chapters between the chapters in which the topic is discussed is used. In either case,
the smaller that number, the more sequential the text.
Sequentiality allows the reader to review basic information
about a topic easily when that topic is mentioned again or
its relationship to other topics is discussed, assuming the
text is read in chapter order.
Table 5 shows the number of topics that were mentioned in more than one chapter, and the average
number of intervening chapters between those mentions
(chapter distance).
As can be seen from Table 5, the Gelinas texts had the
smallest average chapter distance (4.31), followed by the
Hall texts with 5.29, while the Romney texts were the least
sequential with an average chapter distance of 6.46. It
should be noted that if the latest editions were compared,
the Romney text (12th edition) would be the most
sequential.
CONCLUSION
When the findings are compared with the market shares of
the texts, patterns of preference emerge. The top-selling
Romney text has consistently the greatest proportion of
technical topics, and the most focused topic selection. This
suggests that instructors adopt a text that prepares the student for more specific, procedural, technologically augmented tasks encountered in the workplace. They discount
a broader, more discursive treatment of topics in favor of a
narrower focus on a small number of relatively more important topics.
The findings regarding integration and sequentiality are
ambiguous. The differences in the integration metric are
very small, on average ranging from 1.12 to 1.21, and
instructors may find this number to be insignificant.
Sequentiality is also hard to assess because instructors may
base their selection on Romney’s historical nonsequentiality, or its most recent, maximally sequential edition. Therefore, future researchers should focus on finer measures of
integration, and testing the selection relevance of sequentiality on a larger sample. Another research ramification
emanates from the apparent dissonance between calls for a
greater focus on conceptual topics coming from MIS and
the technical orientation inherent in AIS instructors’
choices.
The findings indicate several pedagogical implications.
Whether a text is more conceptual or technical, instructors
have to incorporate other material from other sources to
provide a more balanced curriculum. Diverse texts might
be taught with greater sensitivity to topic prioritization.
Courses using texts that are less sequential have to make
TABLE 5
Number of Topics Mentioned in More Than One Chapter, and the Average Number of Intervening Chapters Between Those Mentions
(Chapter Distance)
Text
Topics mentioned in > 1 chapter
Ave. chapter distances for topics mentioned in > 1 chapter
Romney 11
Romney 12
Hall 7
Hall 8
Gelinas 8
Gelinas 9
6
9
11
3.91
20
5.32
17
5.25
15
3.53
8
5.08
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262
F. BADUA ET AL.
use of periodic review sessions, particularly immediately
preceding midterms and finals.
Thought should be given to the text appropriate to the
level at which AIS is taught, whether at the undergraduate
level catering to students who are going to work as management of their organizations, or at the graduate level with a
view to training CPA-track students. Again, differences in
textbook characteristics, particularly in the balance of conceptual and technical material, will have to be carefully
considered. Instructors of lower level undergraduate AIS
courses would choose more diverse, conceptual texts, while
instructors of upper level CPA track courses, would use
more focused, technical texts.
Therefore, by employing content analysis instead of faculty or student surveys, in this study we developed new metrics that objectively rather than subjectively characterize
qualities that influence AIS textbook adoption. These metrics also guide instructors of various types of AIS courses,
in choosing textbooks, and the manner in which they might
administer the course given a particular textbook choice.
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