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Peer Review

Inequality and Interdependence: Social Problems and Social Justice

Reviewed:

Jul 10, 2026 by Health Sciences
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 5.0 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 4.8 stars
Ease of Use: 5.0 stars
Overview:

This resources is a textbook designed for learners exploring sociology and social problems. The content includes fourteen chapters of content that has text and links for YouTube videos throughout. The content would be useful for remote, hybrid, or face-to-face delivery. 

Type of Material:

  • Open (Access) Textbook
Recommended Uses:

  • The source is a textbook, so it can be incorporated in various ways. The book includes text, videos, and other items to engage students.
  • It could be used in class, for homework, individually, in teams, for lectures, self-paced, and more. 
Technical Requirements:

  • Internet Access
  • Web Browser
Identify Major Learning Goals:

Learning Outcomes:

  1. Describe the ways in which social problems are defined and constructed.
  2. Apply the sociological perspective to identify and analyze social problems.
  3. Distinguish between individual and structural explanations of social problems.
  4. Assess the effects of social problems using empirical evidence.
  5. Examine the structural, institutional, and cultural roots of social problems.
  6. Assess solutions to address social problems.
Target Student Population:

  • College Upper Division, Graduate School, Professional - specifically in social science, social work or health professions. 
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

  • Basic understanding of social structure and theories of social inequalities/inequity. 

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Language is clear for a variety of readers.
  • Terms are defined when necessary.
  • Resources and references are high-quality and appropriate.
  • The content is interactive.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Note that this material is best suited to a U.S. audience, as structures are different in other countries. 
  • The resource promotes conceptual understanding by clearly describing various social problems.
  • It begins with foundational content and theoretical material, then proceeds to applications for various commonly encountered social issues. 
  • Videos are embedded within the book.
  • Learning objectives are included within each chapter of the book.
Concerns:

  • The videos are not accessible from some formats of the book. 

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Instructions for students on using the material across various devices.
  • The table of contents makes navigation easy.
  • The material contains several interactive links for learners to explore topics in more depth. All links were working, accessible, and provided additional content pertinent to the text presented.
  • Links are clearly highlighted in the text. The instructions on how to use it for readers, whether online or on a small device, are also helpful.
  • SmartLinks or ordinary text links are used.
  • Videos include closed captioning.
  • Images include alt text.
  • Sequential headings are set up for screen readers.
Other Issues and Comments:

  • Overall, this book is a good resource with many positive attributes!
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