Reading Print vs. on Screen : How Do Medium and Text Structure Influence the Ability To Locate Information in Text?

Futura Tüchler, Aisha and Cain, Kate (2025) Reading Print vs. on Screen : How Do Medium and Text Structure Influence the Ability To Locate Information in Text? Reading and Writing. ISSN 0922-4777 (In Press)

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Abstract

As readers process text, they not only construct a mental representation of its meaning, but also encode the spatial location of words or sections of the text that convey essential information. The current study investigated the effects of reading medium (print vs. digital) and text structure (linear vs. hierarchical) on the ability to recall the location of information in expository texts and examined performance in relation to comprehension of the text, and independent measures of spatial working memory and reading habits. Participants were 128 students (64 female) from grades 4 to 6 in Germany. Accuracy of recall of the location of information was high in both media, but significantly poorer in the digital medium. This effect was not influenced by text structure or comprehension of the text. Spatial working memory was significantly and positively related to recall of the location of information, but frequency of reading non-fiction, comics and blogs in the digital medium was significantly and negatively associated with the recall of information location.