Reading in print & reading on screen? Which one is much more preferable? Let's find out. Maybe this small research can help shed some light on the issue.

1. THE COMPARISON BETWEEN
READING ON SCREEN
&
READING IN PRINT
(Cognition Perspective)
KHAIRUNNADIAH BINTI MOHD SAMUDDIN
UMMI NUR ASYIQEEN BINTI ZULKEFLY

2. INTRODUCTION
• As the technology develops, the reading preference is
anticipated to shift from the traditional reading habit to
reading on screen.
• Studies indicated that people prefer to read in print over digital
media platforms (Benedetto, 2013) and (Kretzschmar, 2013)
• According to Fidler (2004) and McPherson (2005) -
“Reading on screen presents many advantages, such as
enhanced user experience through media rich content, efficiency,
increased reading capacity, flexibility, cost effectiveness, and
comprehension”

3. LITERATURE REVIEW
• Rosenwald (2015), Baron (2015), Myrberg and Wiberg
(2015), Tanner (2014) and Jabr (2013):
“People prefer to read in print than on screen including the
digital natives regardless for pleasure or learning.”
• (Rosenwald, 2015)
Highest readership rate for in print reading : 18 – 29 y/o

4. READING MEDIUM & COMPREHENSION LEVEL
Rosenwald (2015), Baron (2015),
Niccoli (2015), Myrberg and Wiberg
(2015), Tanner (2014) and Jabr
(2013):
“People who read in print
comprehend better than when
reading on screen.”
Text navigability
• Ability to look at text as whole improve
comprehensibility.
• People recall information by locating where it is
situated in their mind map.
• Turning pages vs scrolling.
Reading habit
• Intensive reading vs skimming, scanning and
searching for keywords.
• On screen readers take a lot of shortcuts.
Vision
• Eyestrain – fatigue, headache, blurred vision and
light sensitivity.

5. READING MEDIUM & CONCENTRATION LEVEL
Rosenwald (2015), Baron (2015), Chatfield (2015) and Jabr (2013):
• It is harder to concentrate when reading on screen than reading in
print.
• They approach the two types of medium with different attitude.
Multi-tasking (Rosenwald, 2015) and (Baron, 2015)
• People tend to multi-tasking when reading on screen.
• People cannot keep their place and tend to give in to temptation of
looking other stuffs.
Multi-purpose screen (Jabr, 2013)
• Refers to various elements exist in the medium.
• Print reading gets away from it.

6. THE PREFERRED MEDIUM
• Reading comprehension is a matter of preferences (Picton, 2014)
• Those who prefer to read on screen perform as well as those who read in
print in comprehension test (Myrberg & Wiberg, 2015).
• It is possible to overcome print superiority, but only those who prefer on
screen medium. (Lauterman & Ackerman, 2014)
• There are times when students prefer to read on screen (Rosenwald,
2015)
oWhen they need to look for information quickly
oWhen the reading material is free. (Baron, 2015)

7. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
To Compare Reading on Screen and In
Print in terms of Comprehension and
Concentration

8. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the preferred medium of reading for
students in Malaysia?
2. What is the logic behind their preferences from
the perspective of cognition?
3. How is it associated with the purpose?

9. METHODOLOGY
The sample study = Students of 20 – 23 years old
Instruments = Questionnaire
• The questionnaire was posted online and we distributed
the link to our peers for responses
• They were asked to state their preference in regard to
the medium of reading and clarify the reasons
(comprehension and concentration)
• All collected data were analyzed using percentages

10. FINDINGS & DISCUSSION
A. RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
B. HOW DO THEY CONSIDER THEMSELVES AS A
READER
C. PREFERRED MEDIUM OF READING
D. THE MEDIUM THEY COMPREHEND BEST
E. THE MEDIUM THEY CONCENTRATE BEST
F. THE ASSOCIATION OF PURPOSE AND MEDIUM OF
READING PREFERENCES

11. RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS
AGE RESPONDENTS
20 2
21 1
22 4
23 5
TOTAL 12
25%
75%
MALE FEMALE

12. HOW DO THEY CONSIDER
THEMSELVES AS A READER
VERY MUCH
ENJOYABLE
JUST OKAY
NOT AT ALL
ONLY WHEN I LIKE THE CONTENT OF THE TEXT
33.3%
25%
33.3%
8.3%
OPTIONS AMOUNT %
Very Much 1 8.3%
Enjoyable 4 33.3%
Just Okay 3 25%
Not At All 0 -
Only When I
Like the
Content of
the Text
4 33.3%
TOTAL 12 100%

13. PREFERRED MEDIUM OF READING
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
ON SCREEN IN PRINT
75%
25%
OPTIONS AMOUNT %
IN PRINT 9 75%
ON SCREEN 3 25%
TOTAL 12 100%

14. THE MEDIUM THEY COMPREHEND BEST
IN PRINT ON SCREEN
83.3%
16.7%
OPTIONS AMOUNT %
IN PRINT 10 83.3%
ON SCREEN 2 16.7%
TOTAL 12 100%

15. THE MEDIUM THEY CONCENTRATE BEST
IN PRINT ON SCREEN
OPTIONS AMOUNT %
IN PRINT 12 100%
ON SCREEN 0 0
TOTAL 12 100%

16. THE ASSOCIATION OF PURPOSE AND
MEDIUM OF READING PREFERENCES
Preferred medium for academic
purpose
IN PRINT ON SCREEN
Preferred medium for reading for
pleasure
IN PRINT ON SCREEN
58.3% (7)
41.7% (5)
50% (6)
50% (6)

17. CONCENTRATION WHILE READING
• Findings showcased a significant impression reading
in print leaves to the level of concentration in the
reading process.
• We are all at different stages on the journey of being
comfortable with reading and learning online with on
screen format as medium.
• It is with no solid basis to presume that all students are
comfortable with technology.

18. • Val Hooper & Channa Herath
(2014) explored the impact of
reading online and reading
offline in reading behaviour
• Their sample of study is
participants who were over 18
years of age and who used
the Internet and online
materials frequently
• Many admitted to low levels of
concentration and shifting
focus, thereby missing out on
many words during reading.

19. • While the benefits of reading on screen are putative: much
more information being available and accessible (Liu, 2005),
the consequences are disadvantageous to the concentration
level and general reading comprehension.
• Skim reading, scanning, browsing and skipping certain parts of
the text lead to –
a) Shorter attention span
b) Shifting focus
c) Low levels of concentration
d) Overlooking important words or text

20. • Our respondents do not know the solid reasons as to why
they prefer reading in print over on screen. Majority of them
simply state they like the feeling of it.
• When describing why they feel this way, they refer not just to
the visual sense, but also the way paper feels (physicality of
the text) which facilitates their level of concentration.
• We read by connecting neural structures originally
developed for vision, object recognition, and spoken
language to the processes of letter and word recognition and
the short-term memory storage necessary for unrelenting
thought.

21. COMPREHENSION WHILE READING
• Based on the findings, a significant majority said they
comprehend best when reading in print.
• Majority also chose in print medium when they read for
academic purpose.
• The findings are questionable to the earlier studies of 2000’s
but in line with recent past studies.

22. When asked respondents as to why they
comprehend better in print:
• The satisfactory level of being able to touch, add
something to the text (highlight and additional notes) and
feasibility to locate the information
Chatfield (2015) – physical activities triggers more brain activities than
doing stuffs on devices.
• Comfortability
i. On screen reading are more cognitively taxing (Jabr, 2013).
ii. Eyestrain (Tanner, 2014 and Myrberg & Wirberg, 2015).

23. • Readers attitude towards the medium plays a role.
I. Readers approach on screen reading as less learning
conducive than in print: load information on screen – too
large to allow deep reading.
II. Lack technique on how to deal with on screen reading:
majority enter on screen reading with their in print reading
techniques.
III. More studies on reading medium preferences emerges:
those who prefer to read on screen learn less when read in
print and vice versa.

24. CONCLUSION
• Reading in print is highly favoured over reading on screen
• They concentrate less when reading on screen due to the demand
of the reading process itself that needs them to speed the
reading pace
• Hence, lower concentration level
• They comprehend best when reading in print due to the
navigability, tactile features of the text material, reading habit
and attitude
• Therefore, the electronic text must be enhanced to overcome the
inferiority features from in print materials
• Make it user friendly to compensate for the lack of spatial landmarks
as offered in traditional reading

25. THANK YOU