E-Book Readers in Higher Education Student Reading Preferences and Other Data From Surveys at the University of Agder

• Published in: SAGE open Vol. 3; no. 2
• Main Authors: Olsen, Arthur N., Kleivset, Birgitte, Langseth, Henry
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.04.2013
• Subjects: e-book readers; surveys; academic study; reading; iPad; Kindle
• ISSN: 2158-2440; 2158-2440
• DOI: 10.1177/2158244013486493

This article reports on a research project at the University of Agder that has studied the use of e-readers as a tool for academic study. E-readers (Kindle DX and iPad) were loaded with texts from required reading lists in five courses with 94 participating students. Initially, 87 students responded to the invitation to participate in a survey, but eventually 13 of these submissions had to be removed, as the degree of completion was not sufficient. The final response rate achieved was 79%. Students were in general positive to the use of e-readers but still show a preference for print on paper as the best medium for serious academic study. When reading books, 54% preferred print, 28% a combination of print and e-reader, and finally only 11% were satisfied solely using an e-reader. The iPad scored significantly better than the Kindle DX on tasks that required active interaction with the texts such as highlighting and note taking.