Readability Research Research Articles

A comment on “The struggle to fabricate accounting narrative obfuscation: an actor-network-theoretic analysis of a failing project”

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a comment on “The struggle to fabricate accounting narrative obfuscation: An actor-network-theoretic analysis of a failing project” by Brian Rutherford. Design/methodology/approach The paper discusses issues highlighted by Rutherford regarding the unresolved limitations of the Flesch formulaic approach to readability analysis and the narrow focus of readability research in accounting. Findings Commencing with an overview of an important shift in the use of the Flesch formula in accounting readability research in 2004, the paper outlines the emergence of supplementary measures and proxies of readability and reader accessibility of accounting prose. When used in combination with Flesch, the two measures augment readability analysis, ameliorate the formula’s limitations and broaden readability research scope and focus. Originality/value The paper gives impetus to the development of additional supplementary measures and proxies of readability and reader access which are necessary to further expand the horizons of accounting readability research and meet ongoing changes to the contemporary accounting communications landscape.

Using literary metaphor and characters as structural and symbolic tools

Narrative researchers are faced with the challenges of ethically co-constructing human data and writing meaningful, readable research texts, which protect participants’ anonymity. This article adds to the conversation of qualitative, and especially narrative, inquiry by presenting one creative approach to these challenges. It proposes that using extended literary metaphor and known literary characters, as analytical and structural tools, develops allegoric layers of meaning while preserving participant anonymity. Situating narrative research in the realm of imaginative story may help readers and researchers, like Alice in her Wonderland adventures, return from their journey through the research storyworld portal with new insights, and heightened understandings, of those phenomena being revealed and illuminated through narrative.

Accounting Statement Footnotes Contextual Association with Firm Financial Characteristics in the Oil and Gas Industry

Information quality of financial accounting statements is an issue for readers’ decision-making. This study investigates the association of the annual report readability with the firm’s weighted average cost of capital (a key ratio used in firm valuations and investments). The study focuses upon the oil and gas industry in order to include an analysis of “successful efforts” versus “full cost” accounting methods. Prior studies find that as the level of useful information increases in the financial statements, the corresponding firm’s information asymmetries decrease, resulting in a company’s lower cost of capital (Francis, J. et al. 2008, and Barth M. et al. 2013). The current study findings indicate that the accounting readability of annual reports does associate with weighted average cost of capital. This study extends readability research into this financial ratio footnote and MD&A area. The study also finds the accounting choice of “successful efforts” versus “full cost” affects readability of annual report information, but no association is apparent of the method with the weighted average cost of capital.

Die Lesbarkeit von Schulbüchern für den Betriebswirtschaftslehreunterricht

With the aid of popular readability formulas the readability of nine austrian textbooks for business education in secondary schools for vocational training was tested. In addition, cloze tests reviewed on the one hand the validity of the formulas and on the other hand they showed the differences in reading abilities of pupils. The article gives a short introduction in the readability research and introduces the design and the results of the current research. In the end, in the inconsistent results reflected problems are discussed.

Textbook readability and ESL learners

This paper reports activities (as part of a university course in language teacher education on teaching reading) in which primary school student teachers (all ESL in-service teacher trainees) explored their own skills of determining textbook readability using an online software tool and a cloze test completed by two hundred and seventy-eight Grade Seven primary school pupils. Findings from the online tool were that the text was difficult. The cloze test confirmed this when it showed that only eighteen pupils could read the text unassisted while the rest were frustrated by it. The paper uses these findings to describe the challenges pupils face and how readability research is beneficial to the reading development of ESL learners if reading of academic texts is approached from the principles of the interactive view of reading; of cognitive learning theory; and of second language acquisition theory. It is concluded that teachers’ awareness of readability issues is helpful for effective reading instruction during the critical formative years of school.

Predictors of Reading Recovery book levels

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether predictor variables, selected from readability research and from teacher nomination, might be used to grade children’s early reading books. Two hundred Reading Recovery books were rated on five variables thought to represent ‘semantic’, ‘syntactic’ and ‘phonic’ features of text. The variables accounted for 83% of book level variance. In a cross‐validation exercise they were found to be stable and reliable. It is suggested that the data support the validity of the Reading Recovery book levels, and that the formula can be used by teachers to grade children’s early reading books.

A Comment to Contextualize "Performance and Readability: A Comparison of Annual Reports of Profitable and Unprofitable Corporations"

The relationship between financial performance and readability is discussed in a recent issue of this journal (Subramanian, Insley, & Blackwell, 1993). Subramanian et al.'s paper analysed 60 annual reports from two groups of profitable and unprofitable corporations. They found a significant difference between mean readability levels of two groups of annual reports. In particular, their analysis showed that annual reports of good performers were significantly easier to read than those of poor performers. Narrative sections of annual corporate report are growing in importance and president's letter to stockholders and management discussion and analysis, in particular, represent a major opportunity for managements to discuss both financial and non-financial events. These narrative sections may be especially useful to unsophisticated investors because they can be used by managements to explain annual corporate performance in non-technical language. Subramanian et al.'s paper, given its concentration upon these important (and often neglected) narrative disclosures is, therefore, to be welcomed. It provides a useful contribution to debate on relationship between annual corporate performance and readability of financial statements. In order to fully appreciate findings of study, however, I feel that it is necessary to evaluate them within context of other readability research studies, and more broadly, within annual corporate reporting literature. The remainder of this paper addresses this contextualization. CONTEXTUALIZATION WITHIN THE READABILITY RESEARCH LITERATURE Subramanian et al.'s main finding is that mean readability levels of profitable corporations were significantly easier to read than those of unprofitable ones. They thus conclude that the results of this study contradict earlier findings by Courtis (1986) and Jones (1988). Both these studies failed to show a positive correlation between readability and performance. Subramanian et al. attribute Courtis' (1986) findings to fact that his study used four indirect measures of performance (current ratio, leverage, earnings variability, and rate of return on total assets), while their study used a direct measure, net income. This argument seems reasonable. In their interpretation of Jones' (1988) findings, however, they, in effect, unnecessarily weaken their own case. They focus solely upon which Jones (1988) found was negatively related to readability and point out that one explanation for this result is that turnover is quite distinct from net income. They, however, surprisingly omit to mention that Jones (1988) also tested net profit to sales and return on capital employed. These ratios are also negatively related to readability implying that increased profitability is associated with decreased readability. These results, which are at variance with Subramanian et al. study, may reflect fact that Jones (1988) used a relative measure of profit while Subramanian et al. used an absolute one. Alternatively, their suggestion, that turnover and profitability are poorly correlated, may be correct. Another plausible explanation is that Jones (1988) study was of a longitudinal nature on one firm from 1952-1985. This contrasts with cross-sectional, multi-firm approach used in Subramanian et al. The company used by Jones (1988) may have been atypical or time itself may have been an underlying explanatory variable for decline in readability. This latter explanation is consistent with findings of Jones (1993) who, after reviewing this issue, suggests that readability of corporate annual reports has declined over last thirty years. In fact, Jones' (1988) conclusion does indeed suggest possible causative effect of time: turnover increased, as time passed, so readability declined. When findings of other readability studies are evaluated, it is clear that Subramanian et al. …

Reading, readability, and legibility research: implications for notification letters.

This article defines communication science and then briefly describes three research areas relevant to worker notifications: (1) receiving of notification messages, (2) reading and understanding of notification messages, and (3) influences or effects of notification messages on workers. Next, the article focuses on the reading and legibility research relevant to worker notifications and then provides 16 guidelines for drafting worker notifications. Finally, the article suggests evaluating draft notifications by using one or more of the following: skilled editorial reviews, readability scoring, Cloze techniques, signal stopping techniques, in-depth personal interviews, focus groups, and usability testing.

A Review of Research in Revising Instructional Text

School textbooks are commonly criticized. This article reviews research in revising instructional text by examining multidisciplinary research in readability, text structure, text interestingness, expert revisers' strategies, and readers' comprehension strategies. Findings are that much of this research is limited by a simplistic view of reading, the use of experimentally contrived texts and contexts, and a dependency on recall as a measure of comprehension. A promising line of recent research uses readers' verbal protocols to guide revision and develop revision principles. Further research needs to: (a) develop other innovative ways of measuring comprehension, (b) focus on subject specific concerns, and (c) examine classroom contexts of textbook use.

Booksearch: Readable Research on Teaching

Booksearch: Readable Research on Teaching

Instructional implications of text processing research

Basic theoretical approaches in the history of text comprehension research have been reviewed and compared to their instructional implications: readability research, comprehensibility research, traditional psycholinguistics, traditional elementaristic models of text processing, and new holistic models of text processing. Contrary to a sceptical view, which denies the practical instructional relevance of text comprehension research, recommendations for instructional design can be shown to be closely related to specific theoretical perspectives. Especially in the last years important advances in research have taken place which have considerably changed our picture of text comprehension. The more refined understanding of text processing implies more differentiated and specific recommendations for instructional design, which go far beyond everyday knowledge about text comprehension. This is illustrated on the basis of new holistic theoretical approaches combined with the notion of procedural semantics. The instructional value of the new theories on text processing is seen in their heuristic function. They provide new perspectives on instructional problems and suggest new ways of thinking. Thus, they are a basis for attaining a more comprehensive and differentiated analysis and, thus, for better founded instructional decisions.

READABILITY FORMULAS: AN OVERVIEW

The aim of this paper is to review some of the findings in the field of readability research. First, the differences in meaning between the terms ‘readability’ and ‘legibility’ are discussed. Next, the origins and developments of readability formulas are examined in detail. Then, the best‐known formulas for English language material are described so as to give the reader a brief overview of what has been achieved in this field of research. Finally, the principal applications of these formulas are described.

The Topic Sentence Revisited

Historically considered, the concept of the topic sentence seems to be related to the concept of the topoi in classical rhetoric-in the sense of a topos or topic as subject matter treated in a speech or a portion of a discourse, as a method of reasoning about a subject, and as a place or heading from which arguments are drawn. All of these senses of the word seem to have been maintained in the kind of advice given by 19th-century textbook writers about methods of constructing paragraphs. In order to construct a paragraph, the advice goes, the writer should embody the main idea of the paragraph (its subject) in a topic sentence. Then, drawing upon a list of commonplace methods of reasoning about the subject (in the form of headings, such as comparison, contrast, and cause and effect, that label relationships), the writer should develop the central idea contained in the topic sentence into a unified and coherent paragraph. This connection between the topic sentence and the classical topoi is eminently suggestive, but however interesting it may be, the fact is that as an independent concept the topic sentence did not begin to emerge until the mid-19th century. It first appeared in Alexander Bain's discussion of the paragraph in 1866, and it attained fuller development in the late 19th and early 20th century. But the 19th-century conception of the topic sentence has come under considerable attack in recent years because of its deductive origins and because one kind of research has revealed that many contemporary professional writers do not use topic sentences in their writing. I would like to argue, however, that in some kinds of writing the topic sentence can be a valuable rhetorical strategy because it can help writers to organize their ideas and it can help readers to follow the logical development of the writer's ideas. As a means of developing my argument, I would like to look briefly at the origin and development of the concept of the topic sentence, consider the criticisms that have been made of the topic sentence in the 20th century, and then, drawing upon readability research that discusses the topic sentence and schema theory, argue that this kind of research supports the value of using topic sentences in expository prose.

Content Familiarity and the Perception of Textual Relationships in Second Language Reading

This paper examines the effect of content familiarity on the perception of certain textual relationships by second language learners. Research relating to schema theory is presented and an empirical study involving one hundred second language students is described. The results of the study support the notion that such subject factors as content familiarity and background knowledge have an important effect on levels of comprehension. The implications of this for pedagogy and for readability research are discussed.

Reconceptualizing Readability: The Relationship between Surface and Underlying Structure Analyses in Predicting the Difficulty of Basal Reader Stories

Readability has traditionally been predicted by tabulating surface structure variables such as vocabulary and sentence length. These criteria are used in determining levels within basal reading series. The prediction of readability as a function of underlying structure- or the logical relationship among higher-order text elements-has not been systematically investigated. In this study a difficulty formula based on underlying structure analysis was applied to basal reader stories and compared to difficulty levels as determined by the Fry Readability Formula. Results indicated that there is no systematic increase in underlying structure difficulty with increase in grade level. Implications for readability research and for basal reader content and instruction are discussed.

Using Readability Research to Investigate Writing

Using Readability Research to Investigate Writing

Readability of Accounting and Auditing Messages

Readability research has resulted in the development of formulas to esti mate the relative success of comprehension of written messages without requiring the reader to actually read it and be tested. In this paper, the readability of selected accounting and auditing messages in annual reports is measured using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula. Based upon these measurements, notes to financial statements and reports of independent auditors are found to be at unsatisfactory difficulty levels. Additionally, evidence provided indicates that the readability level of recent financial statement notes is significantly lower than that of 1969 statements.

The Technical Writer-Readability Formulas and the Nontechnical Reader

This article examines currently popular technical editorial practices in the preparation of communications directed at nontechnical readers. In light of these practices it presents source materials for reviewing readability research on available formulas and procedures, explaining their development, and demonstrating some of the benefits and pitfalls for editors and writers directing technical materials to the nontechnical reader. Concluding, the writer suggests that theoretical readability formula research become part of the corpus of information presented at pre- and in-service training programs for technical writers.

Readability Techniques for Authors and Editors

Described are techniques which relate to the impact of communications on the reader. An awareness by authors and editors of the techniques available through readability research studies leads to significant savings in time and effort, as well as increased benefits in comprehension and learning of the reader. Examples of use in technical publications show how exchanges between author and reader can be more effective and productive. The techniques have wide application also to publications of all kinds, and provide a valuable resource to achieve optimum results in communication or information products. The discussion is based on the knowledge and experience gained by the writer through academic and practical applications in editing and preparing a wide variety of general and technical communications.

A Response to Kibby's Criticisms of the Rauding Scale Research

space. Kibby uses the occasion of my article to expound upon his ideas about what readability research should focus upon. Also, he seizes the opportunity to provide the reader with a review of research. Kibby seems to justify this by contending that my research failed to take this referenced research into account. He should have pointed out how the Rauding Scale would have been affected or improved if this research had been focused upon. It is not clear what I should have done in developing the Rauding Scale that would have satisfied Kibby's tastes. Maybe he would have been satisfied if I had simply included a large number of references to earlier works that are of indirect relevance. Kibby claims that I failed to communicate to the Rauding Scale raters what I meant when I asked them to judge the difficulty of the vocabulary, ideas, and style of a passage. Kibby is wrong. Rauding Scale raters must pass the Rauding Scale Qualification Test (Carver, 1974) before they use the Rauding Scale, and on this test they receive the following instructions: