Interior Design Reference Manual: Everything You Need to Know to Pass the NCIDQ Exam, Print (Paperback), 6th Edition

Customer Reviews (View All - 8)

starsGood reference, must-have for NCIDQ Review by Amazon.com Customer

Overall

OK Let's get this straight right out of the gate: I HATE that textbooks are so expensive. This one too.

Now that's out of the way: so far this book is telling me everything I've needed to pass the NCIDQ. I've done the IDFX so far and am studying for the other two currently, and after seeing how the IDFX went I'm pretty confident that this will help with the other two. This book is designed for the NCIDQ. It does give tips on how to take the tests as well.

There are typos, and sections that aren't explained very clearly. Some bits of information seem to contradict each other but that's most often because the descriptions have very subtle differences that take some dissecting. Even with that, this book is informative enough that I know I'll be referencing it for years after the tests have passed. (Posted on 6/2/2017)

Expensive, but worth the money Review by Amazon.com Customer

Overall

Here is a reference from another review that covers this book also:
I did end up buying the reference manual and the flashcards. I would definitely buy the reference manual again, but not sure the flashcards are necessary. If you study well this way, it is an ok format to drill info in, however most of them are not simple one-answer questions. The answers are lists of several points that you may understand, but will never memorize & be able to rattle off. So essentially, you just read them as a condensed (and selective) version of the book. It can be a good companion if you have lots of extra money to spend on this already incredibly expensive test.
Also, I just took both multiple choice tests yesterday (IDPX & IDFX) and the amount of info I did NOT need to know what astounding. There were only a very small percentage of questions that actually referenced facts or written procedures. Most of them were crazy scenarios that you just have to use your judgment to know the "best" or "most-correct" answer. Very frustrating!! A few of the straight information questions were not anywhere in the Ballast study material. But as you know, the tests change every season and you will never know which few facts they will ask you - so you had better be familiar with all of them. Every question counts since their grading process is so crazy.

To expand on this book specifically:
even though it is quite expensive, it is a good thing to get since it pretty much condenses all of the information you need to know in one place. I did end up reviewing a separate code book, color theory book, ADA regulations & drafting/construction books, BUT the info in this reference manual is probably good enough to get a good handle on all of the areas you will need to know for the test. It is really good on the "theory & design concept" sections and also the Contract Administration, Bidding & Management sections. There are very specific AIA & ASID regulations/guides/sequences to follow that are not always common to everyday practice, so this book did a good job of driving a lot of the important information in. The rest of the chapters have good informational overall review on the detailed stuff (lighting, acoustics, codes, drafting, etc.) however I did find a few discrepancies and saw where they neglected to cover some more detailed scenarios that would have been too difficult to skim. Overall, I think it is enough info to pass the test (if all you needed was to know info - unfortunately its so much more than that!)
The organization in the front is great. It separates the information you need to know by each section and each test and it gives you the weighted percentages that pertain to each test section. That can help you prioritize facts and study time. I did find that the organization of the Project and Business Management stuff was a little confusing at first. It is not chronological, but after you read it through a couple times and make your own notes, it makes sense. (Posted on 5/5/2015)