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Research

Readability Research

As “tech people” committed to data-driven decisions, Readability Matters invites researchers–spanning cognitive science, visual science, human-computer interaction, education, and typography, from industry and academia–to participate in further study, shifting the focus from what is best for the population to what is best for the individual.  

Readability Matters calls for further study of Readability Features to support implementation recommendations for personalized reading. Research must support all communities of readers, young and old, proficient and struggling, good and poor vision. Further, the research must be designed to include iOS, Android, and web platforms. 

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What question do you want to answer? Join the research community that is building better reading for everyone, everywhere. 

  • Readability Matters is engaging in vital work that will help enhance reading for everyone. I am excited to partner with them on cutting-edge research that will help improve our understanding of how readability features affect reading comprehension processes in the brain.
    — Dr. Shannon M. Sheppard, PhD, CCC-SLP, Chapman University
  • Advocates like Readability Matters are key in our era of information overload. LabX is excited to be working side by side with them to prove out technologies that enhance reading instantly.
    — Dr. Ben D. Sawyer, Professor of Industrial Engineering & Neuroscientist, University of Central Florida
  • The Readability Matters team has brought invaluable insights to help guide our research directions towards impactful findings on optimal reading formats. We look forward to continuing to learn from each other.
    — Dr. Zoya Bylinskii, Research Scientist, Adobe
  • ReadWorks is excited to team with Readability Matters and researchers exploring Readability impacts. We have a collective goal of improving outcomes for all learners.
    — Susanne Nobles, PhD, Chief Academic Officer, ReadWorks
  • As a researcher, I am excited to explore the benefits of personalized reading formats for children. Readability Features may be an important new tool for educators in the area of individualized instruction.
    — Carol Connor, PhD, Chancellors Professor, School of Education, University of California, Irvine
  • Readability Matters has served as the catalyst to bring together multiple groups of advocates, researchers, and professionals to help spur new research into the idea that every person, no matter their prior ability, can improve their reading ability with their optimal typeface. As a researcher, I am privileged to be working with such a group.
    — Shaun Wallace, Doctoral Candidate, Brown University
  • The team at Readability Matters continues to challenge our thinking and expand our research agenda. We look forward to improved reading productivity for all!
    — Rick Treitman, Entrepreneur in Residence, Adobe

Independent Research, White Papers, and Reports

January 5, 2023
Space for Readability: Effects on Reading Speed from Individuated Character and Word Spacing

Research Highlight: Space for Readability: Effects on Reading Speed from Individuated Character and Word Spacing Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting December 2022…
January 4, 2023
Research Highlight: “Readability Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach”

Readability Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach published in Foundations and Trends in Human-Computer Interaction December 12, 2022 “From the moment we wake up…
October 12, 2022
Research Highlight: Fonts of Wider Letter Shapes Improve Letter Recognition

Small Font Changes can Make Significant Differences in Successfully Reading Digital Text   As more and more reading moves from print to…
July 19, 2022
SSSR | Research Results: Improved Student Reading Speed and Comprehension

Personalized Reading Formats Studied in K-8 Students   Updated: August 30, 2022 Cross-disciplinary research teams delivered posters summarizing their readability research at…
July 18, 2022
Personalized Font Recommendations with Machine Learning

Vision Scientists, Data Scientists, and Typographers Collaborate on a New Readability Solutions   At the proceedings of DIS’22, the ACM SIGCHI Conference…
March 29, 2022
Towards Individuated Reading Experiences

Individuated Reading Experiences Increase Reading Speed without Affecting Comprehension   Readability Matters obtained a pre-print of a forthcoming ACM Transactions on Computer-Human…
February 15, 2022
Readability Matters Announces The Readability Consortium

Readability Consortium Launches to Inform Next-Generation Reading Solutions The Readability Consortium will explore ways to enable better reading and shift reading outcomes…
October 14, 2021
Optimizing Electronic Health Records Through Readability

Research Highlight: Readability Promises to Improve Medical Outcomes This summer Rachel Ball, Dave Miller, Shaun Wallace and their team submitted their medical…
August 3, 2021
Sneak Peek: 20% Increase in Student Comprehension

Readability Formats Yield Significant Results for K-8 Students   Early Results Are In! At the Adobe for Education conference, educator Dr. Susanne…
July 27, 2021
Readability Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach

“Readability Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach” is now available on arXiv!   “Readability Research: An Interdisciplinary Approach” is now available on arXiv, an…
June 18, 2021
Stanford Paper: Pandemic Impacts Reading Fluency Development

Fluency Growth Stalled The Center for Policy Analysis for California Education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education evaluated changes in Oral…
April 14, 2021
Reading Needs Its Next Gutenberg Press

The World Needs The Next Gutenberg Press Readability Matters celebrates Dr. Clayton Christensen’s influential business ideas and his thought leadership in improving…

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