Presentation factors affecting reading behaviour in readers of newspaper media: an eye-tracking perspective

Abstract

This paper examines reading behaviour in readers of printed and online newspaper media. The aim is to identify how much reading behaviour is dependent on various presentation factors, and how this dependence and its magnitude are related to output media. The work is based on review and analysis of empirical studies, primarily those employing methods using eye-tracking. The results show that some factors, such as text-based elements, size and placement, are an important guide to salience in both media. Images, on the other hand, have mostly been found not to elicit major visual attention online, affecting, for example, how ads are perceived. Reading behaviour is, however, a complicated process, and eye-tracking research does not consistently point in one direction.