Reading from paper versus screens: a critical review of the empirical literature

Dillon, Andrew (1992) Reading from paper versus screens: a critical review of the empirical literature. Ergonomics 35(10):pp. 1297-1326.

Full text available as:
PDF - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer.

Abstract

This item is not the definitive copy. Please use the following citation when referencing this material: Dillon, A. (1992) Reading from paper versus screens: a critical review of the empirical literature. Ergonomics, 35(10), 1297-1326. Abstract: The advent of widespread computer use in general and increasing developments in the domain of hypertext in particular have increased awareness of the issue of reading electronic text. To date the literature has been dominated by reference to work on overcoming speed deficits resulting from poor image quality but an emerging literature reveals a more complex set of variables at work. The present review considers the differences between the media in terms of outcomes and processes of reading and concludes that single variable explanations are insufficient to capture the range of issues involved in reading from screens.

EPrint Type:	Journal Article (Paginated)
Keywords:	Visual processing, electronic text, reader performance
Subjects:	Human Computer Interaction
ID Code:	1238
Deposited On:	17 July 2006
Alternative Locations:	http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~adillon/Journals/Reading.htm
Eprint Statistics:	View statistics for this eprint
Tell A Colleague:	Tell a colleague about it.

Askwall, S. (1985) Computer supported reading vs reading text on paper: a comparison of two reading situations. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 22, 425-439.

Bauer, D. & Cavonius, C. R. (1980) Improving the legibility of visual display units through contrast reversal. In E. Grandjean and E. Vigliani (Eds.) Ergonomic Aspects of Visual Display Terminals. London: Taylor and Francis.

Bauer, D., Bonacker, M. and Cavonius, C.R. (1983) Frame repetition rate for flicker-free viewing of bright VDU screens. Displays, January, 31-33.

Beldie, I. P., Pastoor, S. & Schwarz, E. (1983) Fixed versus variable letter width for televised text. Human Factors, 25(3), 273-277.

Belmore, S. (1985) Reading computer presented text. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 23(1), 12-14.

Bevan, N. (1981) Is there an optimum speed for presenting text on VDUs. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 14, 59-76.

Brems, D. and Whitten W. (1987) Learning and preference for icon-based interfaces. In: Proc. of the 31st Annual Meeting of the Human Factors Society. Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Soc. 125-129.

Brown, P. (1988). Hypertext: the way forward. In J.C. Van Vliet (ed.) Proceedings of EP88. Cambridge University Press

Cakir, A., Hart, D. J. & Stewart, T. F. M. (1980) Visual Display Terminals. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.

Conklin, J. (1987) Hypertext: an introduction and survey. Computer, September, 17-41.

Card, S., English, W. and Burr, B (1978) Evaluation of mouse, rate-controlled isometric joystick, step keys and text keys for text selection on a CRT. Ergonomics, 21, 601-613.

Chapman, L. J. and Hoffman, M. (1977) Developing Fluent Reading. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.

Creed, A., Dennis, I. & Newstead, S. (1987) Proof-reading on VDUs. Behaviour and Information Technology, 6(1), 3-13.

Cushman, W. H. (1986) Reading from microfiche, VDT and the printed page: subjective fatigue and performance. Human Factors, 28(1), 63-73.

Dillon, A. (1990) The human factors of hypertext. International Forum on Information and Documentation 15(4) 32-36.

Dillon, A., Richardson, J. and McKnight, C. (1990a) Navigation in Hypertext: a critical review of the concept. In D.Diaper, D.Gilmore, G.Cockton and B.Shackel (eds.) INTERACT'90. North Holland: Amsterdam.

Dillon, A., Richardson, J. and McKnight, C. (1990b) The effect of display size and paragraph splitting on reading lengthy text from screen. Behaviour and Information Technology 9 (3) 215-227

Duchnicky, R.L. and Kolers P.A. (1983) Readability of text scrolled on a visual display terminal as a function of window size. Human Factors, 25(6), 683-692.

Edwards, D. and Hardman, L. (1989) "Lost in Hyperspace": Cognitive Mapping and Navigation in a Hypertext Environment. In R. McAleese (ed.) Hypertext: Theory into Practice, Oxford: Intellect.

Egan, D., Remde, J., Landauer, T., Lochbaum, C. and Gomez, L. (1989) Behavioural evaluation and analysis of a hypertext browser. Proceedings of CHI'89, ACM: New York, 205-210

Elkerton, J. and Williges, R. (1984) Information retrieval strategies in a file search environment. Human Factors, 26(2), 171-184.

Ellis, A. (1983) Reading, Writing and Dyslexia. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Elm, W. and Woods, D. (1985) Getting lost: a case study in interface design. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 29th Annual Meeting, 927-931.

Ewing, J., Mehrabanzad, S. Sheck, S., Ostroff, D. and Shneiderman, B. (1986) An experimental comparison of a mouse and arrow-jump keys for an interactive encyclopedia. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 24, 1, 29-45.

Garland, J. (1982) Ken Garland and Associates: Designers-20 years work and play. Cited in, Waller, R. (1987) The typographic contribution to language: towards a model of typographic genres and their underlying structures. PhD Thesis, Dept. of Typography and Graphic Communication, University of Reading.

Gittens, D. (1986) Icon based human-computer interaction. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 24, 519-543.

Gordon, S. Gustavel, J., Moore, J. and Hankey, J. (1988) The effects of hypertext on reader knowledge representation, Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 32nd Annual Meeting

Gould, J. D. & Grischkowsky, N. (1984) Doing the same work with hard copy and cathode-ray tube (CRT) computer terminals. Human Factors, 26(3), 323-337.

Gould, J. D. & Grischkowsky, N. (1986) Does visual angle of a line of characters affect reading speed? Human Factors, 28(2), 165-173.

Gould,J.D., Alfaro, L. Barnes, V., Finn, R., Grischkowsky, N. and Minuto, A. (1987a) Reading is slower from CRT displays than from paper: Attempts to isolate a single variable explanation. Human Factors, 29(3)269-299.

Gould, J.D., Alfaro, L., Finn, R., Haupt, B. and Minuto, A. (1987b) Reading from CRT displays can be as fast as reading from paper. Human Factors 29(5), 497-517.

Hammond, N. and Allinson, L. (1989) Extending hypertext for learning: an investigation of access and guidance tools. In: A. Sutcliffe and L. Macaulay (eds.) People and Computers V. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 293-304.

Helander, M. G., Billingsley, P. A. & Schurick, J. M. (1984) An evaluation of human factors research on visual display terminals in the workplace. Human Factors Review, Chapter 3, 55 - 129.

Jaschinski-Kruza, W. (1990) On the preferred viewing distances to screen and document at VDU workplaces. Ergonomics, 33(8),1055-1063.

Just, M.A. and Carpenter, P. (1980) A theory of reading: from eye movements to comprehension. Psychological Review, 87 (4), 329-354.

Kak, A. V. (1981) Relationships between readability of printed and CRT-displayed text. Proceedings of Human Factors Society - 25th Annual Meeting, 137 - 140.

Kerr S. T.(1986) Learning to use electronic text: an agenda for research on typography, graphics, and interpanel navigation. Information Design Journal.4, 3. 206-211.

Kintsch, W. (1974) The Representation of Meaning in Memory Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.

Kolers, P. A., Duchnicky, R. L. & Ferguson, D. C. (1981) Eye movement measurement of readability of CRT displays. Human Factors, 23(5), 517-527.

Kruk, R. S. & Muter, P. (1984) Reading continuous text on video screens. Human Factors, 26(3), 339-345.

Licklider, J. (1965) Libraries of the Future Cambridge MA: MIT Press

Lovelace, E. A. and Southall, S. D. (1983) Memory for words in prose and their locations on the page. Memory and Cognition, 11 (5), 429-434.

McAleese, R. (1989) Navigation and browsing in Hypertext. In R. McAleese (ed.) Hypertext:Theory into Practice. Oxford: Intellect.

McKnight, C., Dillon, A. and Richardson, J. (1990) A comparison of linear and hypertext formats in information retrieval. In: R. McAleese and C. Green (eds.) Hypertext: State of the Art. Oxford:Intellect.

Mandler and Johnson (1977) Remembrance of things parsed: story structure and recall. Cognitive Psychology, 9, 111-151.

Mills, C.B. and Weldon, L.J. (1986) Reading text from computer screens. ACM Computing Surveys, 19, 329-358.

Milner,N. (1988)A review of human performance and preference with different input devices to computer systems, in: D.Jones and R.Winder (eds.) People and Computers IV, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mitchell, D. (1982) The Process of Reading. Chichester: Wiley.

Monk,A., Walsh, P. and Dix,A. (1988) A comparison of hypertext, scrolling, and folding as mechanisms for program browsing, in: D.Jones and R.Winder (eds.) People and Computers IV, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Muter, P., Latremouille, S. A., Treurniet, W. C. & Beam, P. (1982) Extended reading of continuous text on television screens. Human factors, 24(5), 501-508.

Muter, P. and Maurutto, P. (1991) Reading and skimming from computer screens and books: the paperless office revisited? Behaviour and Information Technology, 10(4) 257-266.

Neal, A. and Darnell, M. (1984) Text editing performance with partial line, partial page and full page displays. Human Factors 26(4), 431-441.

Nelson, T., (1987) Literary Machines Abridged Electronic Version 87.1

Nisbett, R. and Wilson, T. (1977) Telling more than we can know: verbal reports on mental processes. Psychological Review, 84, 231-259.

Olshavsky, J. (1977) Reading as problem solving: an investigation of strategies. Reading Research Quarterly, 4, 654-674.

Oborne,D. and Holton, D. (1988) Reading from screen versus paper: there is no difference. International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 28, 1,1-9.

Pastoor, S., Schwarz, E. and Beldie, I. P. (1983) The relative suitability of four dot-matrix sizes for text presentation on colour television screens. Human Factors, 25(3), 265-272.

Pearce, B. (Ed) Health Hazards of VDUs? Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.

Pugh, A. (1979) Styles and strategies in adult silent reading. In: P.Kolers, M.Wrolstad, and H. Bouma (eds.) Processing of Visible Language 1. Plenum Press: London.

Radl, G.W. (1980)Experimental investigations for optimal presentation mode and colours of symbols on the CRT screen. In E. Grandjean and E. Vigliani (Eds.) Ergonomic Aspects of Visual Display Terminals. London: Taylor and Francis.

Richardson,J., Dillon,A. and McKnight, C. and Saadat-Samardi, M. (1988) The manipulation of screen presented text: experimental investigation of an interface incorporating a movement grammar. HUSAT Memo #431

Richardson, J., Dillon, A. and McKnight, C. (1989) The effect of window size on reading and manipulating electronic text. In E. Megaw (ed.) Contemporary Ergonomics 1989. London: Taylor and Francis.

Rothkopf, E. Z. (1971) Incidental memory for location of information in text. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 10, 608-613.

Sauter, S., Gottlieb, M., Rohrer, K. and Dodson, V. (1983) The well-being of video display terminal users: an exploratory study. Report No: 210-79-0034. Cincinnati, OH: US Dept. of Health and Human Sciences.

Schwartz, E., Beldie, I. and Pastoor, S. (1983) A comparison of paging and scrolling for changing screen contents by inexperienced users. Human Factors, 25, 279-282.

Sekey, A. and Tietz, J. (1982) Text display by saccadic scrolling. Visible Language, 17, 62-77.

Shneiderman,B (1984) The future of interactive systems and the emergence of direct manipulation, in: Y. Vassiliou (ed.) Human Factors and Interactive Computer Systems, Norwood,N.J.: Ablex.

Shneiderman, B. (1987) Designing the User Interface: strategies for effective human-computer interaction San Fransisco: Addison Wesley.

Schumacher, G. and Waller, R. (1985) Testing design alternatives:a comparison of procedures. In, T. Duffy and R. Waller (eds.) Designing usable texts, Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Shulman, H. Shute, S. and Weissmann, O. (1985) Icons versus names as command designators in text editing. Proceedings of the International Conference on Cybernetics and Society. New York: IEEE, 268-272.

Simpson, A. (1989) Navigation in hypertext: design issues. Paper presented at International OnLine Conference '89, London, December.

Smedshammar, H., Frenckner, K. ,Nordquist, C. and Romberger, S. (1989) Why is the difference in reading speed when reading from VDUs and from paper bigger for fast readers than for slow readers? Paper presented at WWDU 1989, Second International Scientific Conference, Montreal.

Smith, A. and Savory, M. (1989) Effects and after-effects of working at a VDU: Investigation of the influence of personal variables. In: E.D. Megaw (ed.) Contemporary Ergonomics 1989. London:Taylor and Francis.

Stammers, R., George, D. and Carey, M. (1989) An evaluation of abstract and concrete icons for a CAD package. Contemporary Ergonomics 1989, London: Taylor and Francis.

Starr, S.J. (1984) Effects of video display terminals in a business office. Human Factors, 26, 347-356.

Switchenko, D. M.(1984) Reading from CRT versus paper: the CRT disadvantage hypothesis re-examined. Proceedings of Human Factors Society, 28th Annual Meeting, Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society, 429-430.

Tinker, M.A. (1958) Recent studies of eye movements in reading. Psychological Bulletin, 55, 215-231.

Tinker, M. A. (1963) Legibility of Print. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.

Tombaugh, J. Lickorish, A. and Wright, P. (1987) Multi-window displays for readers of lengthy texts, International Journal of Man-Machine Studies 26,5, 597-616

Waern, Y. & Rollenhagen, C. (1983) Reading text from visual display units (VDUs). International Journal of Man-Machine Studies, 18, 441-465.

Waller, R. (1984) Designing government forms: a case study Information Design Journal 4, 36-57.

Waller, R. (1986) What electronic books will have to be better than. Information Design Journal 5, 72-75.

Whalley, P. and Fleming, R. (1975) An experiment with a simple recorder of reading behaviour, Programmed Learning and Educational Technology, 12, 120-124.

Wilkinson , R.T. and Robinshaw, H.M. (1987) Proof-reading: VDU and paper text compared for speed, accuracy and fatigue. Behaviour and Information Technology, 6(2), 125-133.

Wright, P. and Lickorish, A. (1983) Proof-reading texts on screen and paper. Behaviour and Information Technology, 2, (3), 227-235.