Scientists have questioned the Goodreads ratings

Books with a "mediocre" rating on Goodreads often turn out to be literarily significant works, including recognised classics. This conclusion was reached by researchers at Aarhus University (Denmark) after analysing data from the largest reading platform.

Goodreads, where millions of users rate books on a five-point scale, has long been a benchmark not only for readers but also for publishers, authors and researchers. However, a new study shows that the average score does not always reflect the real literary value of a work.

What the study shows

A team from the Centre for Humanities Computing (CHC) and the Centre for Contemporary Textual Cultures (TEXT) studied about 9,000 American novels published between 1880 and 2000. The researchers paid special attention to about 2,000 books whose average ratings on Goodreads were in the "grey area" - about three stars.

By comparing user ratings with other indicators - curricular inclusion, classic status, and cultural influence - the researchers found that about 30 per cent of these "average-rated" books were considered literarily significant by independent criteria.

Disagreement is a sign of value

One of the study's key findings: the spread of evaluations may be more important than the average number.

According to co-author of the paper, PhD student Pascale Feldkamp, it is the literarily significant books that have a high polarisation of opinions:

"The more people read such books, the more the scores diverge. Some people give it top marks, others criticise it harshly. And this is what shows the involvement and importance of the work".

At the same time, for books with little cultural weight, an increase in the number of ratings does not lead to an increase in disagreement - opinions remain relatively homogeneous.

Why average ratings can be misleading

The researchers emphasise: a three-star rating can conceal fundamentally different scenarios. In one case, it's an indifferent agreement, in another case, it's the result of a clash of opposing but strong reader reactions.

Thus, the average rating does not always indicate the "weakness" of a book. On the contrary, it may indicate controversial, provocative, or ahead of its time works that are later recognised.

How they propose to rate books differently

The authors of the study believe that when analysing data from Goodreads and similar platforms it is important to consider:

• not only the average rating,

• but also the number of reviews,

• as well as the level of disagreement between readers.

This approach allows for a more accurate judgement of the cultural and literary significance of a book than a single average indicator.