A study to determine the effect of the use of hypermedia and graphics upon recall and retention of news stories in on-line newspapers

More and more news organizations are publishing on-line news via the World Wide Web. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of hypermedia and graphics in online news upon immediate recall and longer-term retention.Ninety-eight subjects read one of four versions of a news story presented through a World Wide Web browser. The four versions tested the story with and without the use of graphics and with and without the use of hypermedia in a 2x2 design. Subjects were tested with a 15-question fill-inthe-blank quiz immediately and after one week.Analysis of variance found no significant effectsthe use of graphics or hypermedia or the interaction of the two upon immediate recall. However, a significant effect for the use of graphics was found for retention after one week.