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E-Book Reader Usability Study: Reading Performance and Comprehension

E-Book Reader Usability Study: Reading Performance and Comprehension . By Hannah Lee and Thomas Young. Introduction. As digital and E-book reading continue to become more popular, a close look at how this relatively new medium compares to traditional print is important

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E-Book Reader Usability Study: Reading Performance and Comprehension

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  1. E-Book Reader Usability Study:Reading Performance and Comprehension By Hannah Lee and Thomas Young

  2. Introduction • As digital and E-book reading continue to become more popular, a close look at how this relatively new medium compares to traditional print is important • There is no conclusive evidence suggesting that E-book reading may have advantages or disadvantages in comparison to Print Reading

  3. Research Questions The experiment is therefore designed to explore the following questions comparing E-book and Print Reading: Does E-book reading impair the reader’s ability to have an in-depth understanding of a text? Does E-book reading impair reading speed?

  4. Choice of E-book for Study The Kindle Touch was chosen for the study because… • The E-ink display bears the closest resemblance to the print format • Less potential distractions compared to other E-Book readers

  5. Description of Experiment • 8 participants were divided into two groups (Group A and Group B) • The groups were created to compare the way each specific text was read on the Kindle and on paper Group AGroup B Non-Fiction Text (On Paper) vs. Non-Fiction Text (On Kindle) Fiction Text (On Kindle) vs. Fiction Text (On Paper)

  6. Description of Experiment The Texts chosen for the usability study were… Non-Fiction Text: Scientific Article “Dangerous Glass Fibers In Cigarettes Worsen Lung Damage For Smokers” by S.D. Wells Fiction Text: Excerpt of the Novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

  7. Description of Experiment • The participants of each group were timed during both readings to measure their reading speed • Each reading was followed by a 12-question quiz, designed to measure reading comprehension • After the experiment was completed, each participant was given a Post-Questionnaire asking if they skimmed or re-read during the experiment on either reading format

  8. General Results • The most significant finding was that the non-fiction text results of the group that read it on the Kindle performed significantly better on the quizzes than those who read the non-fiction text on Print • Both the fiction and non-fiction texts were read faster on paper than on the Kindle. • The group that read the fiction text on paper performed better on the quiz than the group that read it on the Kindle

  9. Non-Fiction Reading Time Reading times, fromlowest to highest for non-fiction. (Red : On Kindle , Blue: On Paper) Average Times Non-Fiction Article (Paper) 5 minutes and 17 seconds Non-Fiction Article (Kindle) 5 minutes and 32 seconds

  10. Fiction Reading Time Reading times, fromlowest to highest for fiction. (Red: On Kindle , Blue: On Paper) Average Times Fiction Excerpt (Kindle) 5 minutes and 8 seconds Fiction Excerpt (Paper) 4 minutes and 28 seconds

  11. Discussion of Time Results • Participants read the fiction excerpt about 13% faster on paper than on the Kindle • Our fiction results were consistent with the results from a study by Jakob Nielsen in 2010, whose participants read 10.7% slower on the Kindle than on paper while reading short stories • Participants read the non-fiction article 4.5% faster on paper than on the Kindle although the marginal difference may render this statistic insignificant

  12. Non-Fiction Test Scores Test scores for Non-fiction texts on both formats (Red: On Kindle , Blue: On Paper) Average Scores Non-fiction article on Paper: 58% Non-fiction article on Kindle: 83%

  13. Fiction Test Scores Test scores for fiction texts on both formats (Red: On Kindle , Blue: On Paper) Average Scores Fiction excerpt on Paper: 100% Fiction excerpt on Kindle: 79%

  14. Discussion of Test Results • Those who read the non-fiction text on the Kindle performed better on the quiz than those who read non-fiction on paper. • This could be because people are generally more accustomed to reading non-fiction on digital formats. • However, they read at a relatively similar pace (only 4.5% slower)

  15. Discussion of Test Results • The group who read the fiction text on paper performed better on the quiz than those who read fiction on the Kindle. • The same group also read the fiction text 13% faster on paper than the group that read it on the Kindle • This may because people are more comfortable reading fiction on print because they are more accustomed to reading paper for leisure type reading

  16. Post-Questionnaire Results • The participants generally skimmed and reread more on the non-fiction text regardless of the format. • This suggests that the type of text (i.e. fiction/non-fiction) could be influential in the act of skimming/re-reading than the format (i.e. print/digital).

  17. Limitations • One Kindle was used for the duration of the entire study. • The sample of participants consisted of eight people • The texts were relatively short. • Therefore, the results only apply to short texts

  18. Conclusions • E-book readers could be better suited for non-fiction reading, while print reading could be better suited for fiction reading • The results indicate that further research is required to examine these differences • More participants, Longer Texts and Usage of Multiple E-book readers in future studies could provide more accurate data in relation to how E-book reading in general compares to Print reading

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