Undergraduates' Academic Reading Format Preferences and Behaviors

This study of undergraduates' academic reading format preferences and behaviors asks the questions: What are undergraduates' format preferences when engaging with their academic readings, electronic or print? What factors impact their preferences and behaviors? How do these factors influence their actions? Almost 400 students at the University of California, Los Angeles completed the online Academic Reading Questionnaire in spring 2014 by agreeing or disagreeing with statements about their format preferences when engaging with their academic texts, and the contextual factors that impact them. Results show overwhelmingly that they prefer print over electronic formats for learning purposes, but multiple factors such as accessibility, cost, complexity and importance of the reading to the course affect their actual behaviors. The findings are then considered within the larger picture of previous studies of presentation format preferences, and research comparing reading comprehension in electronic and print formats. Zipf's Principle of Least Effort and the concept of information economics are used to suggest a theoretical basis for why factors outside of comprehension and learning efficiency impact the students' actual behaviors.