Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT 2005
Volume 3585 of the series Lecture Notes in Computer Science pp 741-752
Wide vs. Narrow Paragraphs: An Eye Tracking Analysis
- David BeymerAffiliated withIBM Almaden Research Center
- , Daniel M. RussellAffiliated withIBM Almaden Research Center
- , Peter Z. OrtonAffiliated withIBM On Demand Learning
Abstract
How wide should paragraphs be formatted for optimal reader retention and ease of reading? While everyone is familiar with the narrow, multi-column formatting in newspapers and magazines, research on the issue is not consistent. Early work using printed media favored narrow formatting, while more recent work using computer monitors has favored wider formatting. In this paper, we approach this issue by using eye tracking analysis of users reading material on instructional web pages. In our experimental system, subjects read the material using an instrumented browser that records all HTML content and browser actions, and their eye gaze is recorded using a nonobtrusive, “remote” eye tracker. Comparing the wide and narrow formatting conditions, our analysis shows that for narrow formatting, subjects (a) read slightly faster, (b) have fewer regressions, (c) retain more information in a post-test of the material, but (d) tend to abandon the ends of longer paragraphs.
- Title
- Wide vs. Narrow Paragraphs: An Eye Tracking Analysis
- Book Title
- Human-Computer Interaction - INTERACT 2005
- Book Subtitle
- IFIP TC13 International Conference, Rome, Italy, September 12-16, 2005. Proceedings
- Pages
- pp 741-752
- Copyright
- 2005
- DOI
- 10.1007/11555261_59
- Print ISBN
- 978-3-540-28943-2
- Online ISBN
- 978-3-540-31722-7
- Series Title
- Lecture Notes in Computer Science
- Series Volume
- 3585
- Series ISSN
- 0302-9743
- Publisher
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Copyright Holder
- Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
- Additional Links
- Topics
- Industry Sectors
- eBook Packages
- Editors
-
- Maria Francesca Costabile (16)
- Fabio Paternò (17)
- Editor Affiliations
-
- 16. Dipartimento di Informatica, Università degli Studi di Bari
- 17. ISTI-CNR
- Authors
-
- David Beymer (18)
- Daniel M. Russell (18)
- Peter Z. Orton (19)
- Author Affiliations
-
- 18. IBM Almaden Research Center, 650 Harry Road, San Jose, California, 95120, USA
- 19. IBM On Demand Learning, 20 Old Post Road
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