Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Reading and seeking information in documents are among the crucial literacies of our \ntime. Our ability to carry out these activities successfully is due to a long series of \ninnovations in information design that go back thousands of years. Such innovations \nare increasingly valuable today. \nThis dissertation introduces an innovative format for print and online \ndocuments that I call “QuikScan.” QuikScan employs summaries and highlighting to \nspotlight the superordinate ideas (or gist) of a document. It uses multiple \nwithin-document summaries to synthesize each section of a document. The summaries \nare typically formatted as numbered list items that correspond to the “target numbers” \nin the main body of text where the summarized items are elaborated fully. QuikScan \nenables readers to grasp the gist of a document and locate specific information \nefficiently. \nDrawing upon the literature on information design, reading and reading signals, \nand summaries, this research presents the design of QuikScan, a design that can be \napplied to different document genres, different reader populations, and different \ncontexts of document use. \nTwo empirical studies are reported to demonstrate QuikScan’s effectiveness on \nreading. The first study shows that QuikScan significantly improves reading \ncomprehension and potentially enhances retention. The second study reveals that \nQuikScan significantly improves the efficiency of information seeking. \nThe main analysis of QuikScan centers on its rhetorical implications. \nGrounded on the rhetorical theories of author-reader relationships, this dissertation \npresents a multi-faceted view of the QuikScanner, the reader, and the QuikScan \nprocess. It demonstrates the rhetorical dynamics of QuikScan, frames QuikScan as a \ndocument intermediary, and discusses complex relationships facilitated by the \ndocument intermediary. Using QuikScan as a test bed, this research extends our \nunderstanding of author-reader relationships. \nAdditionally, this dissertation explores a number of special circumstances \nwhere QuikScan can be especially desirable, including assisting business meeting \nattendees, visually impaired readers, and RSS feed users. It describes the process of \nQuikScanning documents and presents important guidelines. In concluding, the \ndissertation highlights its major contributions to technical communication and \ndiscusses ideas for future research.
Author: Quan Zhou
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: University of Washington
OpenAlex ID: W2749453373