how much of a difference is there in buying college text books that have different editions?

Question

I'm trying to purchase 6th edition, can only find 4th and 5th. will it make much of a difference?

Answer 1

depends on the subject - whether the information covered is static or dynamically changing. probably the biggest thing to look out for is whether the professor will assign homework - sometimes the questions are changed - you could end up doing the wrong homework. Search google for the ISBN - there are plenty of online bookstores - good luck :)

Answer 2

Check out the publisher's website to see what's new in the latest revision (be aware that the publisher will logically overstate the importance of these changes).

Also consider the subject. Basic math, for example, is not going to change. I used a previous edition for a class once, and the only difference I ever saw was the order of the chapters. Not too hard to deal with. Tech books, on the other hand, will probably be most accurate if newer. I once had a database book that included several critical updates over the prior version.

Answer 3

Certain examiners may set questions from the more current edition, which have updated research results and updated theories. The editors or authors may also include better references and illustrations to the new edition. If you are buying a textbook for a subject that does not have much changes, then go ahead and get the older one.

Answer 4

More often than not, there is very little difference between editions.

The only thing I would watch out for is if you are going to be getting questions to do from the textbook that you have to hand in: the questions are usually in different orders or can be added/deleted from one edition to the other.

But if you have a friend who can photocopy the questions if you need them, I'd go with an older edition.

Answer 5

You have to ask your professor about that. Try email. If you go to a big school ask the professor's aid.

Unless some radical advancement had occurred in the subject you are studying (i.e., some sciences, law, psychology, etc.), the difference isn't that great.

For example. I had one physics book that used the exact same questions in one edition and the following edition, but in different order. Every week I had to assign the right number to my questions before turning in my work.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

if its soemhting like a math or science book, and assuming you dont have homework of specific questions in the book, No.

some other textbooks change the readings that are in them for different versions, so check online about what the version changes are. If they say they just revised some basic stuff like the table of contents and such, then old versions are great.

Answer 7

No it will only be a few pages off if any. You just can't sell it back. Its how they make their money.