Reading Comprehension and Digital Books: Jury Still Out

Reading Comprehension: Better on Kindle or Paper?

According to a recent study, reading on paper produces better comprehension than reading a PDF on a shiny monitor.

According to a recenter study, “While the type of E Ink used in the latest generation of Kindles and other tablets has been shown to be as or even more legible than printed text, other studies have indicated that — in terms of reading comprehension — the medium doesn’t much matter.”

Or if you’re the Guardian, you interpret the same data a different way: “A new study which found that readers using a Kindle were “significantly” worse than paperback readers at recalling when events occurred in a mystery story.”

Here’s a chart via the NYT that shows the data:

For further breakdown, check out The Digital Reader’s take on it.

I think it’s safe to conclude that the jury is still out.