Journal of Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers (대한산업공학회지)

Korean Institute of Industrial Engineers (대한산업공학회)
권호 표지

The Influences of Reading Type, Line Length, and Interlinear Spacing on the Legibility of Korean Web Documents

읽기 형태, 줄 길이, 줄 간격이 한글 웹 문서의 가독성에 미치는 영향

  • Shin, Jong-Hyun (Department of Industrial Engineering, Hanynag University) ;
  • Park, Min-Yong (Department of Industrial Engineering, Hanynag University)
  • Published : 2003.09.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Many people get plenty of information from World Wide Web, and the study of the factors that affect on reading task on web browser is presenting important issue. But domestic studies on legibility of Korean on web environment were relatively poor and the study about suitable text layout for skimming wasn't carried out also. At this point, this study was performed to investigate the effects of two types of reading, three levels of line length, and three levels of interlinear spacing on comprehension and reading rate when subjects read the materials on web browser. Reading speed, error rate, subjective preference and SACL(Stress and Arousal Checklist) evaluation were measured to evaluate the effects. Eighteen volunteer subjects participated in eighteen web document sessions with two different reading types, three different line lengths, and three different interlinear spacings. Statistical results from objective and subjective evaluations indicate that 50 characters per line of line length and 100 percents of interlinear spacing improved reading rate, overall error rates were reduced when reading normally, and SACL measures were increased at fast reading type. Consequently, in order to design text layout to retrieve information in WWW environment effectively, just applying guidelines of traditional printed material is not proper. Therefore, it is effective to consider reading type, line length, and interlinear spacing. Implications of these results and suggestions for the further study are also addressed.

Keywords

References

  1. Dyson, M. C. and Haselgrove, M. (2001), The Influence of Reading Speed and Line Length on the Effectiveness of Reading from Screen, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 54, 585-612
  2. Dyson, M. C. and Kipping, G. J. (1998), 'The Effects of Line Length and Method of Movement on Patterns of Reading from Screen', Visible Language 32, 150-181
  3. Grandjean, E., Hunting, W., and Nishiyama, K. (1984), Preferred VDT Workstation Settings, Body Posture and Physical Impairments, Applied Ergonomics 15(2), 99-104
  4. Horton, w., Taylor, L., Ignacio, A. and Hoft, N. L. (1996), The Web Page Design Cookbook, John Wiley
  5. Hwang, Y. S., Lee, D. C., and Lee, S. D. (1997), An Experimental Study on Search Speed and Error Rate According to Korean Letter Size and Font on Search Task with VDT, Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea 16(2), 29-38
  6. Keppel, G. (1991), Design and Analysis: A Researcher's Handbook, Prentice Hall
  7. Kim, R. and Albers, M. J. (2001), Web Design Issues when Searching for Information in a Small Screen Display, Proceeding of the 19th Annual International Conference on Computer Documentation 193-200
  8. Lee, S. H. and Myoung, R. H. (2001), The Legibility of Hangul Font and Size in the Web Browser Environment, Proceeding of 2001 Spring Conference of Ergonomics Society of Korea 33-36
  9. Muter, P. and Maurutto, P. (1991), "Reading and Skimming from Computer Screens and Books: The Paperless Office Revisited?, Behaviour and Information technology 10, 257-266
  10. National Computerization Agency (2002), Korea Internet White Paper, National Computerization Agency, Seoul, Korea
  11. Nielson, J. (2000), Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity, New Riders Publishing
  12. Rayner, K. and Pollatsek, A. (1989), The Psychology of Reading, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
  13. Tombaugh, J. W., Arkin, M. D., Dillon, R. F., and Flaborea, A. (1985), "The Effect of VDU Text-presentation Rate on Reading Comprehension and Reading Speed, Proc. CHI '85: Human Factors in Computing System, L. Borman and B. Cureis, Eds. ACM, New York, 1-6
  14. Walczyk., J. J., Kelly, K. E., Meche, S. D. and BRAND, H. (1999), "Time Limitations Enhance Reading Comprehension", Contemporary Educational Psychology 24, 156-165
  15. Youngman, M. and Scharff, L.(1998), Text Width and Margin Width Influences on Readability of GUIs, Presented at SWPA (http://hubel.sfasu.edu/research/textmargin.html)