Readability formulas have even more limitations than Klare discusses

  • Authors:
  • Janice Redish

  • Affiliations:
  • Redish & Associates, Inc., Bethesda, MD

  • Venue:
  • ACM Journal of Computer Documentation (JCD)
  • Year:
  • 2000

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Abstract

A literature review reveals many technical weaknesses of readability formulas (when compared to direct usability testing with typical readers): they were developed for children s school books, not adult technical documentation;they ignore between-reader differences and the effects of content, layout, and retrieval aids on text usefulness; they emphasizecountable features at the expense of more subtle contributors to text comprehension.