Narrative engagement and reading performance on digital and

Narrative engagement and
reading performance on
digital and printed platforms
iarigai 2014, Swansea, September 7th – 10th
Olli Nurmi, Janne Laine, Timo Kuula
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
Introduction
 Book reading is evolving due to the digital transformation, the
latest generation of digital devices and services providing a
different reading experience than those of, say, 10 years ago
 How does leisure-based reading of eBooks on a modern tablet
device compare to the reading of printed books in terms of
reading experience and performance?
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Goals
 Emphasis on in-depth, linear, leisure-based reading (as opposed
to browsing, searching for information, or reading professional
literature or school books)
 also real-life reading contexts
 Examine the use and experience of different reading platforms
(digital reading compared to print reading) with different research
methods:
 Gain a better understanding of readers’ variable styles of reading, reading
contexts, preferences, and how these relate to the characteristics of
reading platforms and products
 (Testing and development of methods)
 Through better understanding of readers and reading
platforms, support books and reading in all forms
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Reading experiments and interviews
 Reading performance and experience
 Platforms: digital, print
 Books (emphasis on leisure reading)
 Tablet devices used for reading digital editions (eBooks)
 Lab experiment: reading pace, comprehension,
experiences, gaze path
 40 participants, questionnaire, interview, observation, eyetracking
 Real-life reading: contexts, platforms, experiences
 8 participants, interviews
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Lab experiment: text samples – each title as a
printed book and a digital edition on iPad
 Text 1:
Muita hyviä ominaisuuksia
(Petri Tamminen)
 Text 2:
Lapinvuokko
(Enni Mustonen)
 Text 3:
Totta
(Riikka Pulkkinen)
 Text 4:
Markkinat ja demokratia
(Björn Wahlroos)
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Book reading lab experiment
 4 titles, each title as a printed book and as a digital edition in the
BlueFire Reader software in iPad 4
 Selected text from each book (start of a chapter or a whole chapter)
 Each participant read two texts from a printed edition and two texts from
a digital edition
 Order randomized, each text read 20 times from a printed edition, 20
times from a digital edition
 Repeat until all 4 texts are read:
 Read text (reading time and eye movements recorded)
 Answer reading comprehension questions
 Answer reading experience questions (narrative engagement)
 Answer printed vs. digital reading questions
 Interview
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Reading pace: no significant differences in
reading times between the printed and digital
(tablet) versions
900
800
700
Reading time (Sec)
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Print 1
Digital 1
Print 2
Digital 2
Print 3
Digital 3
Print 4
Digital 4
Reading platform and text sample number
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Reading comprehension scores: (mostly)
no significant differences between the
printed and digital (tablet) versions
Mean
Standard
deviation
Text 1
Print
Digital
2,8
3,0
0,9
0,9
Text 2
Print
Digital
3,0
2,9
1,1
0,9
Text 3
Print
Digital
3,5
2,8
0,6
0,8
Text 4
Print
Digital
2,3
2,5
1,1
0,8
Slightly higher mean comprehension score for the
printed version than for the digital version of the
same text (significant difference at 95% confidence
level)
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Examples of questionnaire items used to measure
different dimensions of reading experience
(narrative engament)
Dimension
Narrative
understanding
Attention
Emotional
engagement
Narrative
presence
Item indicator
I had a hard time recognizing the thread of story. *
At times, I had a hard time making sense of what was going
on in the story. *
The story was easy to understand.
I found my mind wandering while reading the story. *
While reading my mind was concentrated.
The story affected me emotionally
The events in the story felt meaningful.
While reading, the story's world was closer to me than the
real world.
I could easily picture the events of the story taking place.
* reverse-worded items
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Reading experience measures: averaged over
participants and texts
5,40
5,30
5,20
5,10
5,00
4,90
4,80
4,70
4,60
4,50
4,40
Digital
Print
Digital
Print
Digital
Print
Digital
Print
UND_P UND_D ATT_P ATT_D EMO_P EMO_D PRE_P PRE_D
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Emotional engagement of the printed and digital
editions of texts 1 to 4
6,0
5,5
5,0
4,5
4,0
3,5
Print 1
Digital 1
Print 2
Digital 2
Print 3
Digital 3
Print 4
Digital 4
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Things that have a significantly stronger
association with printed books
Perceiving the whole
content available within a
title
Comfortable posture for
reading
Pleasant platform for
reading books generally
Text appears tangible
Blocking the surrounding
real world out of one's
mind
Reading to relax
Pleasant platform for
reading novels and other
fiction
Atmospheric reading
Returning to a previously
read part of a text
Immersing oneself in the
world of the story
Reading to acquire and
adopt new information and
points of view
Fast reading
Entertaining reading
Being in control of the
reading situation
Ease of comprehending a
text
Reading demands
concentration
Hobby-related reading
Suitable for long reading
sessions
Suitable for luxurious
reading sessions
Suitable for inspiring
reading sessions
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Things that have a significantly stronger
association with e-books
Reading is tiresome
Work-related reading
Disturbing gloss or glare
Finding information
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Real-life eReading of Books (on a tablet device)
 How does the eReading experience differ from reading print?
 In what kind of different situations people read with mobile devices?
 Test period:
 ~1 week of leisure-related reading with tablet device
 eBook of own choice; not work-related
 HelMet-service and Ebib (digital library service in Helsinki area)
recommended; other services OK
 Themes of Interview:
 Background; reading habits, attitude to eBooks before test period
 Overall impressions; Reading experience (free evaluation); print vs.
eBook
 Reading situations; reading styles and times
 Content and eReading; suitability of the chosen content for eReading
 Technology (tablet); suitability, other mobile devices
 Conclusion; attitude to eBooks after test period, willingness to read
eBooks in the future
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Test group
 8 people; 4 male, 4 female
 Age 30-46;
 Not at all or not much previous experience on eBooks
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Reading situations and styles
 Most of the eReading was done at home, in same places and situations where
they would normally read print: sofa, bed, armchair in the evening.
 tablet device didn’t have major effect on the place and situation
 One person mentioned that she read in the cafeteria, which is unusual for her
(tablet thus have the potential to change the habit).
 There were no major differences in reading styles between print and eBook;
the experience of reading the text and story was basically the same.
 Many emphasised that they want certain minimum amount of time and certain
peace for (leisure) reading, thus reading in shorter periods on the move is not
wanted.
 Some experienced that reading eBook was a bit faster than reading print, some
felt it was slower. (Note: differences in scanning and skimming).
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Technology
Advantages of tablet in reading
Weaknesses of tablet in reading
turning the page is easy and handy
brightness must be adjusted
holding the tablet is comfortable
tablet is heavy
adjusting the font size, brightness and column width is possible
one might hit wrong buttons accidentally
carrying loads of books is possible
tablet is fragile
starting to read is slower compared with print
need for electricity and internet connection
 Tablet was the most popular device for reading eBooks, when
compared with mobile phone and laptop computer.
 Other functions of tablet might disturb the reading experience.
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Content
 Light leisure reading (paperbacks) was experienced as more suitable for
eReading.
 For light reading library books are OK, but for more serious reading books
need to be purchased. Print is more safe than digital; printed books in the
bookshelf remind you that they need to be read. (Note: Access to the book is
an essential part of eReading experience.)
 For some, classic books are not very suitable as eBooks.
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Attitude on reading eBooks
Attitude on reading eBooks before the test period:
 Neutral or negative
 Reading from screen is not good for your eyes
 Reading is more difficult: Starting to read (access) and reading itself (lack of
print’s physical features)
Attitude on reading eBooks after the test period:
 7/8 interviewees told their attitude changed: the experience was positive
 1 person was generally against digitalization
 Overall experience was easier than thought before: reading from screen was
not a problem, tablet was a good device for reading
 Access to eBooks via library service was easy
 2 persons told eBooks could completely replace printed books; for the rest
they could partly replace print
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Conclusions
 No significant differences in reading pace &
comprehension between printed books and reading on a
modern digital platform (tablet)
 The reading experience of a printed book is slightly better
(for an average reader)
 E-book reading experience on a tablet still ”good enough”
for many participants (for some, e-book reading experience
exceeded expectations)
 In terms of usability, a tablet as a reading platform is not
seen as considerably worse than a printed book
 Considerable differences between persons: different
preferences and values related to reading
 Access to the book and ease of starting to read a book is
an essential part of the reading experience
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Thank You!
Contact:
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
 [email protected]
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