Navigation and comprehension of digital expository texts: Hypertext structure, previous domain knowledge, and working memory capacity

BURIN, D., BARREYRO, JP., SAUX, G., IRRAZABAL, N.

Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology

Universidad de Almería

Año: 2015 vol. 13 p. 529 - 550

1696-2095

Introduction.In contemporary information societies, reading digital text has become pervasive.One of the most distinctive features of digital texts is their internalconnections via hyperlinks, resulting in non-linear hypertexts. Hypertextstructure and previous knowledge affect navigation and comprehension of digitalexpository texts. From the Cognitive Load framework, working memory capacitywould have a role in supporting decisions about navigation, and in situationmodel construction for comprehension. The present study assessed text structure,previous domain knowledge, and working memory capacity effects on comprehensionand navigation of digital expository texts.Method. Fifty-sixparticipants completed a working memory capacity measure, read four digital textsand answered questions about them. Hyperext structure (hierarchical vs.network) and previous thematic knowledge (high vs. low) were manipulated in awithin-subjects design. Navigation behavior was indexed taking into accounttotal time spent on each text, total number of pages per text, number of returnsto the initial page, and number of nonlinear links clicked. Results. Highprevious knowledge, and high working memory capacity, led to better comprehension.Participants who read under network interfaces followed less structured navigationpaths than those who read hierarchically organized interfaces. On the otherhand, high previous knowledge texts led to more pages visited, more non-linearjumps in reading, and more returns to the overview in the Home page in thenetwork condition. Also, total time spent on each text was longer for highworking memory participants reading high previous knowledge texts. Discussion. Overall,this pattern of results adds to the literature about the beneficial effectspromoted by hierarchical interfaces and concept maps; and the disorientationeffects network hypertexts have for low domain knowledge students. On the otherhand, given good previous knowledge and high working memory, a more variablepattern of navigation would help readers engage in more active reading processes.