Quote:
Originally Posted by GtrsRGr8
I confess that sometimes I have been a hurry, and just considered the average score at Amazon (and hopefully the score at GoodReads, too) before purchasing. That might have been a mistake, although I can't point to any particular cases where that went wrong.
Issybird's calculas for judging the validity of ratings is interesting, to say the least, though; I certainly will give it consideration!
Amazon recognizes the issue of whether or not the average rating give a true picture of how good a book really is. As I mentioned in post #1670, Amazon states that they do not use raw data to come up with an average score. They use a "machine model" to come up with what they think is a more accurate average score. I suppose that that means that they use a Bayesian approach, algorithms, something(s) like that, (a) thing(s) which are way above my mathematical head.
That might make me more confident to pull the trigger on books at Amazon which have a high composite rating. When necessary.
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Again, either extreme can be suspicious. The only reliable gauge is to get a Kindle sample or look at the Look Inside feature and start reading, like you would with a hard copy in a book shop. Even legitimate reviews are only the opinions of strangers.