Are less able readers disadvantaged by reading in electronic environments?

This paper reports on an empirical investigation of the relationship between print and hypertext reading skills. Subjects in the study were university students at a public Midwestern university. A repeated-measures, counter-balanced design was employed. Subjects were categorized as highand low-ability readers based on a standardized measure of reading achievement. Experimental tasks required subjects to answer questions using both print and hypertext versions of an academic advising handbook. A number of significant effects were observed including a practice effect, a format effect that favored print over hypertext, and a question-set effect. Although this study provides support for the claim that readers find hypertext more difficult, there was no clear evidence that hypertext differentially disadvantages less able print readers.