Reading Format Preferences of Finnish University Students

Abstract

The reading format preferences of Finnish university students were studied as part of an international research project. The research material was compiled by a web based questionnaire sent to 18 universities in Finland and over 600 completed questionnaires were received. Printed class readings were preferred by a clear majority of informants, especially if the texts are long. However, only less than half of the informants would want all course materials in print format, often due to ecological reasons. Moreover, electronic publications are easy to store on a computer, and there is also a minority preferring electronic format, especially among students of technology. In most cases also informants with visual limitation preferred printed format to electronic, suggesting to the need for further develop the latter group.