Faculty Sponsor: Barbara J. Juhasz
Live Poster Session: Zoom Link
Abstract: Printed books commonly use serif fonts like Times New Roman, while websites favor sans serif fonts like Arial. Many studies have examined the effect of font types on reading online and on paper, but few have assessed how serif and sans serif fonts may affect legibility when combined. For example, textbooks typically print headings in sans serif and body texts in serif. In this study, skilled readers read titled passages, which used contrasting fonts for the title and body text (e.g., a Lucida Bright title and a Lucida Sans body). An eye tracker recorded their eye movement during the online portion, offering insight into how fonts affect reading speed and comprehension. Results show that participants read significantly faster online than on paper at the cost of comprehension. The font manipulation did not affect how participants read and understood online passages as opposed to paper passages. However, while reading on the screen, participants made significantly more fixations on average while reading sans serif body text compared to serif body text. As educational materials increasingly become digitized, the findings of this study will benefit the development of fonts and design guidelines to make reading materials more legible and accessible.
Mi_MA-Thesis_Poster.pptx