Does the Medium Make a Difference? Two Studies of Writing With Pen and Paper and With Computers
Titel:
Does the Medium Make a Difference? Two Studies of Writing With Pen and Paper and With Computers
Auteur:
Haas, Christina
Verschenen in:
Human-computer interaction
Paginering:
Jaargang 4 (1989) nr. 2 pagina's 149-169
Jaar:
1989-06-01
Inhoud:
This article reports two studies examining how the use of computer technology affects writers' processes and resulting written products. The first experiment, a partial replication of Gould's (1981) study, compared the efficiency and quality of 15 experienced writers' persuasive letters written in three counterbalanced conditions: pen and paper, standard personal computer, and advanced workstation. Analyses of time to compose and length of the resulting letters showed that when composing with the advanced work-stations, writers wrote for longer periods of time and composed longer letters than when composing with pen and paper. Rate of composition (words per min) was similar in all three conditions. Scores for content quality, mechanics quality, and total quality were also collected and analyzed. Letters composed with the personal computer were poorer in content quality and total quality. There were no differences in mechanics quality. In the second experiment, 8 of the original 15 writers revised two of their letters in the medium with which they were composed. Think-aloud protocols collected while the writers revised their letters were collected and analyzed. When revising with pen and paper, writers planned more than when revising on-line; they also planned more before beginning their revisions. However, when revising in the computer conditions, writers reread their texts more and paid more attention to the medium than when revising on paper.
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