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Does the reading platform matter? An eye-tracking study

Publications: Contribution to journalArticlePeer Reviewed

Abstract

Most reading technologies claim to provide experiences similar to reading on print paper. This study compared reading across different digital platforms and print books. Digital reading mediums used in this study were reading on a PC screen, a handheld e-reader and an iPad. A total of eighty participants enrolled in various university courses took part in this experiment. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of the reading conditions, and subsequent eye-tracking measurements were compared. Results indicated that the mean fixation duration was statistically different only for the reading from the PC condition, whereas it was similar across all other conditions. The reading time and the total number of fixations were comparable for the dedicated e-reader, iPad and printed book. This study provides empirical evidence that e-reading tools closely mimic book-reading conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)105-128
Number of pages24
JournalAILA Review
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2025

Funding

AM and KC are Early Stage Researchers at the ELIT network which has received funding from the European Union\u2019s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie grant agreement no. 860516.

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 501030 Cognitive science
  • 501001 General psychology
  • 602007 Applied linguistics

Keywords

  • digital
  • eye-tracking
  • medium
  • reading
  • screen
  • technology

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