I don’t know of any DIY books that provide for a good reference for troubleshooting burglar alarm systems. But I can offer you a couple of suggestions and things to look out for that may be of help.
First, the door contacts (reed switches and magnets) - most of the heavy duty types have a pretty good gap on them before they activate, some of them up to 3". You want switches that look like this:
Avoid switches that look like this:
But you are probably stuck with whatever the alarm company installed. Make sure the switch and magnet are securely attached to the door frame and door and alignment is critical. Some switches, if the magnet is 1/2" off, it will cause the switch to work improperly. Also check to make sure they installed a spacer on any of the magnet part if it’s attached to a steel door (switch doesn’t matter as much). The spacer helps to keep the magnet from being attracted to the steel on the door. You can also pull down the switch part and check for corrosion or metal filings on the electrical screw terminals - anything like that may cause a false alarm.
Second, the motion detectors. A little education first, infrared motion detectors actually detect body heat, not really motion. I know they have “outdoor” motion detectors, but in my opinion, motion detectors outdoors are good for the porch light and that’s about it! If you need outdoor protection, get rid of the infrared motion detectors and go with a photoelectric beam system. More involved to wire but reduces false alarms dramatically. For the indoor motion detectors, make sure they are installed correctly. They should NOT look at any windows/doors and avoid being close to any heating vents. You also need to keep the spider webs from collecting around them. Spiders love to make them home and will create a false alarm. Open them up, clean them out, and make sure any penetrations into the detectors are sealed. You know that 1" grey sticky putty you guys use to seal up seams in duct work, comes in a roll separated by kraft paper? Use a little piece of that to seal up the holes! Works great.
Third, not much you can do about this but take a look at the wiring going to the door switches, motion detectors, keypads, etc. Some alarm guys get really sloppy with this - the lazy techs run it all willy nilly and splice the heck out of it! Look for any spice points and just make sure they are up and out of the way. Some guys over crimp the B-connectors and end up breaking the strands in the wire which causes false alarms.
In summary, if you are have a bunch of false alarms on all of the 13 buildings you have to cover, you may be way in over your head to troubleshoot the systems by yourself and your limited knowledge on alarms. The wiring principals are the same with the low voltage stuff you work on in the HVAC field, but as far as properly installing door switches, motion detectors, and programming, you may just need to get a professional alarm guy in there to help you out.