Stavanger Declaration

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The Stavanger Declaration on the Future of Reading looks at the impact of digitization on reading practices. It summarizes the results of research projects that members of the European research initiative Evolution of Reading in the Age of Digitization (E-READ) carried out over a four-year period and discussed at a conference in Stavanger , Norway . The declaration was published on January 22, 2019 in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and signed by more than 130 scientists.

Content of the declaration

The Stavanger Declaration contains findings, recommendations and research questions “on the future of reading”.

Findings

  • People learn and read differently well in different ways. Digital text presentation can be adjusted to individual needs and accommodate this circumstance.
  • When reading screen readers would overestimate their ability to understand, which leads to a decrease in concentration and skimping of the texts, especially under pressure.
  • The understanding of “long informational texts” (but not of narrative texts) is better when reading printed texts than when reading a screen. In recent years this difference has become even clearer.

recommendations

  • Factors that influence the understanding of text when reading print and screen are to be researched empirically. Interdisciplinary research should be carried out on digital learning materials.
  • Schoolchildren and students should be supported in "deep reading" of digital texts. Print books should continue to be advertised and made available in schools.
  • The use of digital reading media should be done carefully, supported by suitable digital tools (which may have to be developed) and empirically evaluated.

Research questions

  • In which areas, with which readers, which medium is most suitable and should be promoted?
  • Will skimming over screen texts become the "standard mode" and transfer to print texts? Does overconfidence in digital reading promote susceptibility to fake news ?
  • How can “deep reading” and text comprehension be promoted in general, how specifically when reading screens?

Evolution of Reading in the Age of Digitization (E-READ)

The Stavanger Declaration was written by the Evolution of Reading in the Age of Digitization (E-READ) research initiative . This is funded by the European research funding framework COST , examines the influence of digitization on reading practices, and brings together almost 200 scholars from different disciplines.

reception

The Stavanger Declaration was received controversially.

Advocates of the printed book particularly focused on the part of the study that found "that paper will continue to be the preferred reading medium for individual longer texts, especially when it comes to deeper understanding and retention of the texts". Jonathan Beck, publisher of CH Beck , for example, also sees mainly that the Stavanger Declaration "once again underlines the advantage of the printed book".

The mathematician Jörn Loviscach criticizes methodological inaccuracies: The meta-study on which the explanation is based, "Don't throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension", was not cited in the explanation by 171,055 participants of this meta-study, 154,577 would come from the New Zealand study "Mode equivalency in PAT: Reading Comprehension". This study was published without a peer review and he received no answer to the question of whether the participants were classified according to reading medium (paper / screen) by chance.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Declaration by 130 researchers: On the future of reading . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . January 22, 2019, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed May 13, 2020]).
  2. ↑ In an e-book reader , for example, the font size, contrast, font, lighting, etc. can often be set.
  3. ↑ Ulrich Störiko-Blume: In the media: The somewhat different annual review - the sentences of the year. “Drawers are only good for socks”. In: BuchMarkt. The ideas magazine for the book trade. December 31, 2019, accessed on May 13, 2020 (German).
  4. ↑ Michael Roesler-Graichen, Jonathan Beck: Interview with publisher Jonathan Beck / "Paper is the elephant in space". In: Börsenblatt. May 24, 2019, accessed May 13, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Pablo Delgado, Cristina Vargas, Rakefet Ackerman, Ladislao Salmerón: Don't throw away your printed books: A meta-analysis on the effects of reading media on reading comprehension . In: Educational Research Review . tape 25 , November 1, 2018, ISSN  1747-938X , p. 23–38 , doi : 10.1016 / j.edurev.2018.09.003 ( sciencedirect.com [accessed on May 12, 2020]).
  6. ^ Jan Eyre, Melanie Berg, Jeses Mazengarb, Elliot Lawes: Mode equivalency in PAT: Reading Comprehension . Ed .: New Zealand Council for Educational Research. Wellington 2017, ISBN 978-0-947509-64-4 .
  7. ^ Jörn Loviscach : Silent Mail from Stavanger: Reading on the screen. In: Jörn Loviscach: Blog. March 1, 2019, accessed May 12, 2020 .