Effects of Text and Hypertext Structures on User Interest and Understanding of Science and Technology

An experiment (N = 301) manipulated two news stories about science and technology to investigate effects of text and link structures on interest and comprehension. A 2 (Text) x 2 (Link) factorial design included inverted pyramid stories versus a linear narrative. Dependent variables included self-reported interest plus situational understanding. In support of construction-integration theory, the highest interest and understanding scores occurred when the linear (narrative) text structure was read with linear links. Surprisingly, interest and understanding scores placed second for matched nonlinear text and nonlinear links. Mismatched text and links for either condition consistently resulted in poor understanding.