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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

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…
March 20, 2021
A Collaborative Interdisciplinary Readability Research Approach

The Launch of a Readability Research Community Bringing Together Experts From Vision Science, Cognitive Science, Human Factors, Education, Typography, and more Dr.…
January 22, 2021
WebGazer: Scalable Webcam Eye Tracking Using User Interactions

Can webcam eye tracking facilitate readability research?  At the Twenty-Fifth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IJCAI 2016, Alexandra Papoutsaki, Patsorn Sangkloy,…
October 22, 2020
The Adobe Tech Proof of Concept, Part II

More Detail on the 2018 Tech Proof of Concept Test with Adobe In his Adobe MAX 2020 readability presentation, Document Cloud Entrepreneur…
September 28, 2020
Widened Letter Shapes Have Implications for Improved Readability

Research Highlight Chiron A.T. Oderkerk and Sofie Beier of the Centre for Visibility Design at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts…
July 27, 2020
Readability Matters for College and University Learners

An Instructor Guide Engaging and Motivating College Student Readers through Customizable Reading Text Interface Jenae Cohn, Ph.D., Kathy Crowley, and Marjorie Jordan…
June 30, 2020
Individual Differences in Font Preference & Effectiveness as Applied to Interlude Reading in the Digital Age

Can we Accelerate Adult Reading? At the June 2020 virtual Vision Science Society conference, Shaun Wallace presented the results of a collaboration…
April 22, 2020
Building Word Knowledge with WKe-Books

In a 2018 Computers & Education paper, Connor et al. studied the potential impact of technology within learning opportunities provided in the…
April 21, 2020
Accelerating Adult Readers With Typeface

Published in the proceedings of the Computer Human Interaction (CHI) Conference 2020, was this study of font as a factor in accelerating…
April 20, 2020
The Great Typography Bake-off

In a paper published in Ergonomics, the International Journal of Research and Practice in Human Factors and Ergonomics, Sawyer, Dobres, Chahine and…
December 2, 2019
University Student Survey Reveals Unique Preferences for eReading Personalization

Readability Matters invited a professor at a top 75 US National University to conduct a quick survey of reading format preference. Thirty-seven…

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