Character size and reading to remember from small displays

Abstract

An under-addressed question regarding the usage of small devices is how information gathering from such devices is limited or changed relative to a full-size display? This study explores how factual recall from a text interacts with display size and other text characteristics. In this experiment, participants read several expository texts on either small or normal size displays, and font size was also manipulated within participants. Results indicate that while users are able to accurately diagnose different character sizes, character size does significantly interact with display size to affect remembering. Those character sizes that increased the amount of scrolling on the small device screen produced lower levels of factual recall than typesets that better condensed textual information. These results provide several interesting suggestions for the future design of small devices and mobile interfaces to protect learning.