Frequently Asked Questions

• Students
• Instructors

• I’m a student. How do I buy the textbook?
  First, you must register and be logged in to purchase chapters. Note that A Sociology Experiment is an all-digital book.

  Next, go to the Available Chapters page. Here, you have two options– you can buy individual chapters that you’ve been assigned (from the left column), or you can buy a Collection of all the available chapters (from the right.) There is no deadline to add individual chapters to your account, and you are free to pace out purchases over the semester.

  Select “Add to Cart” beside each chapter or collection you wish to purchase, and when you’re ready, select “View Cart” or the shopping cart icon at the top right corner. Once you’ve reviewed your cart, select “Proceed to Checkout” to enter your payment information and complete your purchase.

  All your purchased materials will be available on the Purchased Chapters page. Select “Read Collection” or “Read Chapter” from the right side to open your purchase. When you select “Read Now,” you will be taken to a new window or tab with our e-reader, hosted by Bookshelf.

  Help! I was able to read my chapters before, but now it says “Book not found.”

  Your Bookshelf tab or window has likely timed out. Try closing the e-reader, logging out and back in to your account with A Sociology Experiment, and reopening your chapter from the Purchased Chapters page.

  If you have a preexisting account on VitalSource/Bookshelf, or you’ve made a VitalSource/Bookshelf account for a separate e-Book, you will need to log out of that account before accessing your ASE materials.

  If you still can’t access your purchase, please email us at help@sociologyexperiment.com.

  What is the difference between Chapters and Collections on the Chapters page?

  The Collection versions of A Sociology Experiment (right column) contain all chapters of the textbook, for students assigned most or all of the text. The products listed in the left column contain the same content included in that version, but sold as individual chapters.

  A Sociology Experiment was designed for instructors to assign whichever chapters make sense for their class, and for students to only purchase the chapters they need. Students are advised to purchase these individual chapters if they are assigned fewer than fourteen chapters of the book, or wish to pace out their purchases over the semester.

  Why am I being taken to another website when I select ‘Read Now’?

  When you select ‘Read Now’ you will be redirected to a safe and secure website for accessing your purchase. Our new e-reader is provided by VitalSource Technologies, and all chapter text is now hosted through their site.

  Can I buy hardcopies? How do I print out the book?

  As of this time, we only provide our materials digitally. We do not provide hardcopies or versions which users can print.

  I already bought chapters in 2022 or earlier. Why am I being prompted to Add to Cart?

  Moving forward, our chapters will only be available using our new Bookshelf e-reader. We have also retired the Fall 2021 version of our text. If you need access to chapters purchased prior to January 5, 2023, please email us at help@sociologyexperiment.com so that we can assist you.
• I’m an instructor. How do I view materials to decide whether to adopt them for my course?

  Please register as an instructor on our site’s landing page using an institutional email address. We verify each instructor on a daily basis, but you may have to wait 24-48 hours for our team to verify you. Once verified, you will have access to all the chapters on the “Chapters” page, as well as additional teaching resources.

  If you have not been given an institutional email address, your account has not been verified after 48 hours, or you would like to provide further information to help us verify you, please email us at help@sociologyexperiment.com.

  What is the difference between a Teaching Assistant and an Instructor account? Do Teaching Assistants still have access to the text?

  These two types of instructor accounts have the exact same permissions, including access to all chapters and versions of A Sociology Experiment, all Instructor Resources packets, and all Lecture Slides. We distinguish Teaching Assistants to help us verify instructors more effectively, and to provide more relevant communications to all registered instructors.

  If you made a mistake when registering, you can switch your account between Teaching Assistant and Instructor roles anytime from the top of the Account Details page.

  What is the “90-Day Sampling Period”? What is “My Courses”?

  All registered and verified instructors, including Teaching Assistants, are given free access to all ASE materials for at least 90 days. To extend access permanently, instructors are asked to provide more detailed information about their plans to teach A Sociology Experiment in a course using the My Courses page. Providing information about just one course will replace the 90-day sampling period with permanent access.

  However, we encourage instructors to continue updating the My Courses page with future courses to help us learn more about how ASE is being used in classrooms, to help us verify Teaching Assistants, and to help us troubleshoot errors encountered by students.

  If you do not add a course to My Courses within 90 days of verifying your account, you will lose access to the text and instructor resources. However, you will still be able to add a course to My Courses to restore this access.

  Why are chapters sold individually? Why are they not numbered?

  We sell our chapters individually to minimize the financial burden placed on students, and to encourage instructors to only use the materials that make sense for their course. We designed A Sociology Experiment to be a modular resource that gives instructors plenty of freedom about how they wish to integrate our materials into their syllabus. We believe that if an instructor is only assigning half the chapters, that’s all students should be expected to purchase.

  How do I place a bulk order?

  All bulk orders, including invoicing and payment, are handled directly through VitalSource’s Bulk Store. We only accept bulk orders for the complete book at the price listed on VitalSource’s website.

  If you are an instructor working with incarcerated students, we want to make our materials available to you at minimal cost. Please contact us at help@sociologyexperiment.com.

  Can I buy hardcopies?

  In order to keep our materials affordable to students, we only provide our materials digitally. We do not provide hardcopies or versions which users can print.

  I tried to log in, and my account no longer exists!

  In order to keep our site functioning smoothly and securely, we periodically remove accounts we deem “expired.” Your account may have expired if you have not logged in a long time and we have been unable to reach you via your registered email. If your account was removed and you want to regain access to A Sociology Experiment, simply register again using the form on our home page.

If you have any other questions or need assistance, please email us at help@sociologyexperiment.com