Title :
The effect of semantic and syntactic variables on recall
Author :
Spyridakis, Jan H. ; Isakson, C.S.
Author_Institution :
Washington Univ., Seattle, WA, USA
Abstract :
The objectives of the study are to increase the discipline´s knowledge about reader performance with technical documents, help writers and editors better allocate their efforts, and explore the effect of semantic and syntactic variables on recall in a single study. For this study, subjects read and recalled one of two technical texts. Their recall protocols were analyzed for numerous syntactic and semantic characteristics. Results suggest that information has a greater chance of being recalled if it is more important, or if it is placed in independent clauses or in the first paragraph of a document
Keywords :
document handling; human factors; technical presentation; editors; independent clauses; paragraph; reader performance; recall; recall protocols; semantic variables; syntactic variables; technical documents; technical texts; writers; Character recognition; Protocols; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Professional Communication Conference, 1998. IPCC 98. Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International
Conference_Location :
Quebec City, Que.
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-4890-7
DOI :
10.1109/IPCC.1998.722120
