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An Adventurous E-Reader for Non-Linear E-Books University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 2015 An Adventurous E-Reader for Non-Linear E-Books Emily Palmieri University of Montana - Missoula Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Part of the Reading and Language Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Palmieri, Emily, "An Adventurous E-Reader for Non-Linear E-Books" (2015). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 4501. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/4501 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN ADVENTUROUS E-READER FOR NON-LINEAR E-BOOKS By EMILY ROSE PALMIERI B.S. Computer Science, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 2013 B.A. Media Arts, University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 2013 Thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science The University of Montana Missoula, MT July 2015 Approved by: Sandy Ross, Dean of The Graduate School Graduate School Yolanda Reimer, Chair Computer Science Jesse Johnson Computer Science Richard Hughes Media Arts Palmieri, Emily, M.S., July 2015 Computer Science An Adventurous E-Reader for Non-Linear E-Books Chairperson: Yolanda Reimer Non-linear books are published in print format as sequential text or digitally as collections of documents linked together via hyperlinks. These publication methods are problematic for readers and authors alike. Readers are often presented with unintuitive interfaces that do not indicate critical contextual information; authors struggle to order non-linear content into linear formats or to create and distribute their work in resource intensive digital mediums. While standard e-books might be a convenient format for non- linear books, current e-readers used to view them are severely limited; they mimic the format of physical books and fail to solve problems inherent in displaying non-linear content in a sequential order. In this research, a novel e-reader prototype, called Adventurous Reader, was developed and tested. This e-reader displays e-books as a collection of linked documents as specified by the author while providing readers with crucial information about their position and progress. When e-books can be viewed in such an interface, they can serve as a solution to many of the problems authors and readers currently experience in the creation, distribution, and consumption of non-linear texts. ii Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 2 Background & Related Work...................................................................................... 2 2.1 The Importance of Non-Linear Books ................................................................. 2 2.2 Current Solutions.................................................................................................. 4 2.3 Current Problems.................................................................................................. 6 3 Adventurous Reader.................................................................................................. 11 3.1 Detailed Description ........................................................................................... 15 3.1.1 Interface Buttons and Functions ................................................................. 15 3.1.2 Network Interface Functions....................................................................... 21 3.2 Implementation................................................................................................... 23 3.2.1 Network Interface ....................................................................................... 23 3.2.2 Calibre Integration ...................................................................................... 23 3.2.3 E-Book Table of Contents .......................................................................... 25 4 Research Questions and Hypothesis ......................................................................... 26 5 User Testing .............................................................................................................. 28 5.1 Research Method ................................................................................................ 28 5.1.1 Laboratory Study ........................................................................................ 28 5.1.2 Long-Term Study ........................................................................................ 32 5.2 Participants ......................................................................................................... 36 5.2.1 IRB Approval .............................................................................................. 36 5.2.2 Recruiting .................................................................................................... 36 5.2.3 Summary of Participants ............................................................................. 37 5.3 Research Results ................................................................................................ 38 5.3.1 Do users understand their position in the narrative? ................................... 39 5.3.2 Do users understand the relationship between the e-book’s text and the network? .................................................................................................................... 41 5.3.3 Can users estimate their progress through the e-book from the network? .. 43 5.3.4 Do users understand how to advance through the text? .............................. 44 5.3.5 Do users experience less disorientation in AR than in Calibre? ................. 45 5.4 Usability Results ................................................................................................ 48 5.4.1 Can users find buttons and functions when needed? .................................. 48 5.4.2 Can users find specific nodes when prompted? .......................................... 57 5.5 User Testing Summary and Conclusions ........................................................... 58 iii 6 Future Work .............................................................................................................. 64 6.1 Release ............................................................................................................... 64 6.2 Future User Testing ............................................................................................ 64 7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 65 8 Acknowledgments..................................................................................................... 66 9 Appendix ................................................................................................................... 67 9.1 Laboratory Study Testing Materials ................................................................... 67 9.1.1 Introductory Script ...................................................................................... 67 9.1.2 Scenarios and Tasks (Version 2) ................................................................. 67 9.1.3 Scenario 3 (Version 4) ................................................................................ 70 9.1.4 Post-Test Questionnaire .............................................................................. 72 9.2 Long-Term Study Testing Materials .................................................................. 73 9.2.1 Instructions .................................................................................................. 73 9.2.2 Tasks ........................................................................................................... 74 9.2.3 Readme ....................................................................................................... 74 9.2.4 Post-Test Questionnaire .............................................................................. 75 10 Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 82 iv 1 Introduction Non-linear books are any books that are not meant to be read sequentially from the beginning to the end. These include Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) books, textbooks, and certain experimental fiction and non-fiction. Most non-linear books have some level of interactivity, a feature that shows promise in teaching, promoting healthy behaviors and choices, and encouraging adults and children to read (Green & Jenkins, 2014). Readers explore information rather than passively absorbing it or experience grand adventures where their choices directly affect the narrative. Because of this, writing non-linear books is important for educators, authors, and scholars (Green & Jenkins, 2014) (Jensen, 2001) (Pope, 2007), but current publishing methods are limited. When published as printed books, non-linear sections must be ordered in some way. While conventions dictate where to place indexes and appendixes, for example, ordering the sections in other types of non-linear prose is not as obvious or intuitive to readers.
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