DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Learning from hypertext Navigation, comprehension, and working memory in university students Edwards, Marc Award date: 2021 Awarding institution: Queen's University Belfast Link to publication Terms of use All those accessing thesis content in Queen’s University Belfast Research Portal are subject to the following terms and conditions of use • Copyright is subject to the Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1988, or as modified by any successor legislation • Copyright and moral rights for thesis content are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners • A copy of a thesis may be downloaded for personal non-commercial research/study without the need for permission or charge • Distribution or reproduction of thesis content in any format is not permitted without the permission of the copyright holder • When citing this work, full bibliographic details should be supplied, including the author, title, awarding institution and date of thesis Take down policy A thesis can be removed from the Research Portal if there has been a breach of copyright, or a similarly robust reason. 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Sep. 2021 Learning from Hypertext: Navigation, Comprehension, and Working Memory in University Students Thesis submitted to the School of Psychology, Queen’s University, Belfast, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) February 2021 Marc Lewis Emrys Edwards, BSc (Hons), MSc (Hons) Supervisors: Dr. Judith Wylie and Prof. Aidan Feeney i Abstract Reading text from an electronic screen has become prevalent for both recreation and education, with hypertext establishing itself as a large part of the digital reading corpus. Despite hypertext research taking place for around three decades, questions remain about the reading processes involved in this format, whether individual reader differences are beneficial or detrimental to learning, and how to facilitate navigation and comprehension. Three introductory chapters review the current research literature on reading comprehension across study media, and explore the cognitive processes for reading and navigating texts in the digital era. In four experiments, this thesis investigates hypertext learning in university students, focusing on navigation, comprehension, and working memory. The experiments find that deep, inferential, reading comprehension is weaker in hypertext than in print text, with low prior knowledge and lower working memory ability hypertext readers being especially disadvantaged. Equivalence between print and scrolling text performance indicates specific challenges in hypertext (e.g., disorientation, disruption of comprehension processes) are responsible for differences between study media, rather than more general screen inferiority effects. This thesis concludes that, while hypertext presents unique challenges to learning, novel hypermedia features may help overcome them. Evidence for this is in the final experiment, where provision of a dynamic graphical overview facilitates navigation and comprehension in hypertext. Print text is unlikely to make a resurgence in classrooms, so research should continue to explore differences between study media and ways to improve comprehension of hypertext. Keywords: study media, hypertext, navigation, reading comprehension, reading strategies. ii Acknowledgements My thanks firstly go to my supervisor, Judith Wylie, who has regularly gone beyond the expected duties of a supervisor by being variously a mentor, teacher, motivator, therapist, and more, throughout the completion of this research. Her boundless patience and support have made my PhD experience incredibly enjoyable and rewarding. Thanks also to my second supervisor, Aidan Feeney, for his encouragement and feedback, and for further developing my research experience and interests. I would also like to thank everyone who donated their time to participate in my experiments, without whom I would not have been able to complete my research. I extend my thanks to several people who, while not directly involved in this research, were a positive influence on me and my wellbeing during this time. To my Mum and Dad, for being eternally loving and supportive, particularly during the past few years in which my life path has led to living and studying in another country. To my wonderful fiancé, Rebecca, for being the most encouraging and caring partner in the world, especially during the many long nights of writing this thesis. You are my inspiration, and I am so lucky to be on this journey with you. To my friends, old and new, whose humour and motivation has made me smile and alleviated stress more times than I can count. I am grateful for the opportunities I was afforded by the School of Psychology to undertake paid work and engage in activities which greatly furthered my personal and professional development. iii I gratefully acknowledge the funding I received from the NI Department for Employment and Learning, without which I would never have been able to take this opportunity. Marc Edwards Queen’s University, Belfast August 2020 iv Contents ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………….. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………... III LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ……………………………………………..…….. XII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………...………….…… 1 1.1 READING IN THE DIGITAL AGE ……………………………………..…………… 1 1.1.1 The ‘Paper versus Screen’ Debate …………………….….………………….. 5 1.2 CHARACTERISTICS OF TEXTS AND READERS ………………………………...... 8 1.2.1 Introduction to Hypertext ……………………………………………………. 8 1.2.2 Individual Differences of Readers …………………………………………... 16 1.3 ASSESSING COMPREHENSION OF TEXTS ……………………..…………… 19 1.4 COMPARING PREVIOUS REVIEWS ………………………………..………… 22 1.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY ……………………………………………………..…… 31 CHAPTER 2: COGNITIVE PROCESSES FOR READING …………………….….... 33 2.1 THEORIES OF READING COMPREHENSION ……………………….………. 36 2.1.1 The Construction-Integration Model ………………….……………….……. 36 2.1.2 The Landscape Model …………………………………………….….….…. 38 2.1.3 Other Relevant Models of Reading Comprehension ………………..…..….…. 42 2.1.4 Models of Online Reading Comprehension …………………………….……. 43 2.2 THE ROLE OF ATTENTION AND WORKING MEMORY ………….……….. 45 2.2.1 Attention and Working Memory in Print Text Comprehension ………………... 45 2.2.2 Attention and Working Memory in Digital Text Comprehension …...…...….…. 51 2.3 THE ROLE OF METACOGNITION ………………………………………..…… 58 2.4 CHAPTER SUMMARY …………………………………………………….……. 61 CHAPTER 3: NAVIGATING TEXTS IN THE DIGITAL ERA ..…………….……... 63 3.1 LOST IN HYPERSPACE ………………………………………………....………… 64 v 3.2 MEASURING NAVIGATION OF DIGITAL TEXTS ………………...……………… 69 3.2.1 Log-Files ……………………………………………………….…………. 70 3.2.2 Eye-Tracking and Think-Aloud Protocols …...………………….……..….…. 72 3.3 INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN NAVIGATION BEHAVIOUR ….…………. 75 3.3.1 Reading Skill ………………………………..……….………….…………. 75 3.3.2 Working Memory …………………...………………………….…….….…. 77 3.3.3 Prior Knowledge ………………………………………………....….….…. 79 3.3.4 Use of Reading Strategies ………………………….………….……………. 82 3.4 FACILITATING NAVIGATION OF HYPERTEXT …………….……………… 84 3.4.1 Graphical Overviews …………………………………………….…………. 84 3.4.2 Strategy Training …………………………...…...………………….……..….…. 90 3.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY …………………………………………………….……. 91 CHAPTER 4: EXPERIMENT 1 – HOW METACOGNTIVE EXPERIENCE AND WORKING MEMORY ARE RELATED TO NAVIGATION AND COMPREHENSION ACROSS STUDY MEDIA ……………………………………… 92 4.1 BACKGROUND …………………………………………………………………. 92 4.1.1 Paper Versus Screen ………………………….………………….…………. 92 4.1.2 Hypertext ……………………………………………..……………………. 94 4.1.3 Comprehension Across Study Media ………………..……….………………. 95 4.1.4 Working Memory …………………….………………………..……………. 97 4.1.5 Metacognitive Experience ……………………………………………..……. 97 4.1.6 Hypertext Navigation ……………...…………………………...……...……. 98 4.2 AIMS AND HYPOTHESIS …………………..………………………..………… 99 4.3 METHOD ………………………………………………………………..……….. 99 4.3.1 Design ……………………………………….…..……………..….………. 99 4.3.2 Participants ….……………………..………………………….…………. 102 vi 4.4 MEASURES AND MATERIALS ………………….…………………………… 103 4.4.1 The Text …………………………………...…..…………….……………. 103 4.4.2 Reading Comprehension …………………….……………….……………. 106 4.4.3 Working Memory …………………...………………………..……………. 106 4.4.4 Prior Knowledge, Interest, Effort ……………...…………..………….……. 107 4.4.5 Metacognition ……………………..……….………………………..……. 108 4.4.6 Reading Strategies …………………...……………………………..…..…. 109 4.5 PROCEDURE …………………………...………………………..……………………… 109 4.6 RESULTS ………………………………………………………………...………..…….. 110 4.6.1 Reading Comprehension ……………...………………………..….....……. 110 4.6.2 Working Memory ………………………….....…..………………..………. 111 4.6.3 Metacognition …………………….…………………..……………..……. 117 4.6.4 Prior Knowledge, Interest, Effort ……………...………..…...……..………. 118 4.6.5 Reading Strategies ………………….…………...…………………..….……. 121 4.6.6 Navigation Behaviour ……………………....………………………..……. 122 4.7 DISCUSSION …………………………………………….………………..…………….. 130 4.7.1 Comprehension