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Effects of Printing Types and Formats on the Comprehension of Scientific Journals

Abstract

AN experiment was carried out at the suggestion of the Cambridge University Printer to determine the relative comprehensibility in scientific papers of four different styles of printing. Conditions I–IV in Table 1 are representative of formats and types which have been found from experience in printing scientific journals at the University Press to be both readable and economical. Specimens are given on the opposite page.

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References

  1. Burt, C., ‘A Psychological Study of Typography’ (Camb. Univ. Press, 1959).

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  2. Burt, C., Cooper, W. F., and Martin, J. L., Brit. J. Stat. Psychol., 8, 29 (1955).

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  3. Poulton, E. C., Cambridge : Medical Research Council, Applied Psychology Unit. Rep. No. 346 (1959). (Available from the author.)

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POULTON, E. Effects of Printing Types and Formats on the Comprehension of Scientific Journals. Nature 184, 1824–1825 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/1841824a0

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