Support for graphicacy: a review of textbooks available to accounting students

Milner, M. and Hill, W.Y. (2008) Support for graphicacy: a review of textbooks available to accounting students. Accounting Education, 17(2), pp. 173-185. (doi: 10.1080/09639280701612150)

Abstract

This Teaching Note reports on the support available in textbooks for graphicacy that will help students understand the complexities of graphical displays. Graphical displays play a significant role in financial reporting, and studies have found evidence of measurement distortion and selection bias. To understand the complexities of graphical displays, students need a sound understanding of graphicacy and support from the textbooks available to them to develop that understanding. The Teaching Note reports on a survey that examined the textbooks available to students attending two Scottish universities. The support of critical graphicacy skills was examined in conjunction with textbook characteristics. The survey, which was not restricted to textbooks designated as required reading, examined the textbooks for content on data measurement and graphical displays. The findings highlight a lack of support for graphicacy in the textbooks selected. The study concludes that accounting educators need to scrutinize more closely the selection of textbooks and calls for more extensive research into textbooks as a pedagogic tool.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Milner, Mrs Margaret
• Authors: Milner, M., and Hill, W.Y.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Accounting and Finance
• Journal Name: Accounting Education
• Publisher: Routledge (Taylor Francis Group)
• ISSN: 1468-4489
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 Taylor and Francis (Routledge)
• First Published: First published in Accounting Education 17(2):173-185
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher