Abstract
One way to determine whether consumers understand a document is to use a readability formula to assign it a score. These formulas calculate readability by counting such variables as the number of words and syllables in a passage or document. The idea of readability formulas has been defined as “an equation which combines those text features that best predict text difficulty. The equation is usually developed by studying the relationship between text features (e.g., words, sentences) and text difficulty (e.g., reading comprehension, reading rate, and expert judgment of difficulty).” Even though readability formulas are mechanical and imperfect, they are easy to apply and, therefore, popular.
The Flesch-Kincaid test is one popular readability formula, perhaps because Microsoft Word allows users to apply it easily to documents that are typed or pasted into the program. If Microsoft’s readability program is flawed, however, it compromises the results of the many researchers who have relied on it.
Disciplines
Consumer Protection Law | Health Law and Policy | Law and Society | Legal Writing and Research
Date of this Version
February 2008
Recommended Citation
Sirico, Louis J. Jr., "Readability Studies: How Technocentrism Can Compromise Research and Legal Determinations" (2008). Working Paper Series. 104.
https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/wps/art104
Included in
Consumer Protection Law Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal Writing and Research Commons
Comments
This article appears in 26 Quinnipiac Law Review 147 (2007)