Designing Usable Texts
- 1st Edition - April 26, 1985
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Editors: Thomas M. Duffy, Robert Waller
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 0 4 2 3 - 9
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 1 7 6 6 - 6
Designing Usable Texts covers the analysis of textual communication processes in the real world of publishing systems and work sites. The book presents topics on designing and… Read more
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Request a sales quoteDesigning Usable Texts covers the analysis of textual communication processes in the real world of publishing systems and work sites. The book presents topics on designing and understanding of written texts; authoring, editing, and the production process; and training authors of informative documents. The text also describes the policies and processes of editing; lessons in text design from an instructional design perspective; and graphics and design alternatives such as studying strategies and their implications for textbook design. The identification of information requirements such as understanding readers and their uses of texts, modeling users and their use of technical manuals, is also considered. Psychologists and people involved in communication design, document design, information mapping, and educational technology will find the book invaluable.
Contributors
Preface
Part I Introduction
1. On the Designing and Understanding of Written Texts
Introduction
Constructing and Using Texts
A Model of Comprehension
Text Structures and the Contexts of Comprehension
Explicit Texts and Context-Dependent Texts
Optimal Design of Texts
Design versus Theory
References
Part II Authoring, Editing, and The Production Process
2. The Author: Help or Stumbling Block on the Road to Designing Usable Texts
Introduction
What Is Usable Text
Producing Usable Text: Five Propositions
The Author: Help or Hindrance
References
3. Training Authors of Informative Documents
Introduction
Who Are the Authors
What Are the Writing Capabilities of These Authors
How Does the Job Setting Influence What and How These Authors Write
What Do We Know About Training Writers
What Research Is Needed
References
4. Editing: Policies and Processes
Introduction: Why Bother With Editing
Editorial Policy and Usable Texts
Editorial Policies as House Rules
Some Preliminary Studies of Editing Processes
Concluding Comments on Editing Processes and Policies
References
5. Intuitions, Algorithms, and a Science of Text Design
The Increasing Complexity of Communications
Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach to Text Design
Computer-Aided Format Design
Computer-Aided Language Analysis
Summary and Implications
References
6. Readability Formulas: What's the Use
Introduction
Military Texts
Readability and Prediction
Readability and Production
Alternatives to Existing Readability Formulas
References
7. Lessons in Text Design from an Instructional Perspective
Introduction
Preconditions for the Design of Usable Text
Contributions of Learning Research to Text Design
Managing a Text Design Process
Conclusion
References
Part III Graphics and Design Alternatives
8. Studying Strategies and Their Implications for Textbook Design
Introduction
Important Dimensions of Studying
An Analysis of Textbooks
Structure
Coherence
Unity
Audience Appropriateness
Conclusion
References
9. Results with Structured Writing Using the Information Mapping Writing® Service Standards
Table of Contents
History and Goals
Basic Types of Maps
Structured Writing
Principles of Structured Writing
Standards: Their Goals and Use
Research on Components of Structured Writing
Results of Recent Research
Conclusion
References
10. Design Strategies for Job Performance Aids
Introduction
Definition and Characteristics
Job Performance Aid Development
Design Strategies and Formats
Research on Job Performance Aids
Summary and Conclusions
References
11. Using Pictorial Language: A Discussion of the Dimensions of the Problem
Introduction
What Is a Picture
What Are Pictures for
Description and Narration
Generality versus Particularity
Observation-Based and Concept-Based Images
Synoptic Images and Images Composed of Discrete Elements
Configuration
Conventions of Drawing
Style
Verisimilitude
Berlin's Graphic Variables
The Dimension of Time
Repeatability and Transmission
Cross-Cultural Problems
Learning to Make and "Read" Pictures
Feedback and Evaluation
Credibility of Pictures
References
Part IV Identifying Information Requirements
12. Understanding Readers and Their Uses of Text
Introduction
Plan for This Chapter
The Text Producer as "An Audience of One"
Understanding the Ability of the Reader to "Receive and Decode the Message"
Concepts of Adult Marginal Literates as Learners
Summary
References
13. Modeling Users and Their Use of Technical Manuals
Introduction
Research on Comprehensibility and Usability of Military Manuals
The Content Perspective: Modeling Users' Task Performance
The Readability Perspective: Modeling Users' Reading Comprehension Skills
Summary Critique: Content and Readability Perspective
Research on Use of Information Sources at the Job Site
Modeling Performance at the Work Site
Analyses of Observational Data
Modeling Factors Affecting Performance at the Work Site
Modeling Information Processing during Task Performance
Summary: Modeling Performance at the Work Site
Implications of Research for an Improved Technology
References
14. Testing Design Alternatives: A Comparison of Procedures
Introduction
The Impact of Research on Document Design
Procedures for Evaluating Document Design
A Methodological Comparison of Two Macro-Eye-Movement Procedures
Summary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
- Edition: 1
- Published: April 26, 1985
- No. of pages (eBook): 440
- Imprint: Academic Press
- Language: English
- Paperback ISBN: 9781483204239
- eBook ISBN: 9781483217666
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