The Presentation of Information in Combined Reading-Writing Computer Tasks

Abstract

This article discusses the adequacy of two modes of presenting information on a computer screen, i.e., the alternating screen presentation in which information is presented “screen by screen” and the simultaneous screen presentation that shows different sources of information simultaneously on the same screen. Using a simultaneous or an alternating screen presentation, subjects had to perform short writing tasks, half of which required the use of one on-line document, the other half required two documents. The subjects' task performance as well as their appreciation of the task and the presentation mode were measured. The results show that performance and appreciation data do not run parallel. While all subjects clearly prefer a simultaneous mode of presenting information on the screen, performance data are much more varied and less clear cut: when reading, subjects performed significantly better in the alternating mode; when producing a text, subjects slightly benefited from simultaneous screens.