The effects of display size and text splitting on reading lengthy text from screen

The present paper reports on an experimental investigation of reader performance and preferences with a screen-presented journal article. The effects of display size (20 lines and 60 lines) and sentence splitting on readers' manipulation, comprehension and subjective impressions are assessed. The results indicate that neither variable significantly affects comprehension but adjusted manipulation levels are significantly higher in the small window condition. Splitting sentences across screens also caused readers to return to the previous page to reread text significantly more. Subjective data reveal a preference for larger screens and high awareness of text format. Implications for future work are discussed.