| The rate of acceptance of ebooks -- books in digital formats -- is growing rapidly (DeSilver, 2014; Milliot, 2008; Ramaiah, 2005; Springer, 2008). Yet studies show that for active (serious) reading people still prefer to read on paper and employ skimming strategies when reading from a computer screen (Hillesund, 2010; Liu, 2005; Olsen, Kleivset, & Langseth, 2013; Springer, 2008; Wexelbaum & Miltenoff, 2012). These studies imply that currently available ebook devices do not fully support the needs of people who want to use ebooks for active reading. Thus, there is a need for new ebook designs that better serve active reading.;As a means to come up with new insights into novel ebook designs to meet this need, this study investigates the nature of one key aspect of active reading, reader-text interaction, through collecting a variety of behavioral and non-behavioral data in natural and naturalistic settings, thereby filling a research gap identified from a review of the literature on active reading in HCI, education, and literary criticism. The study adopts a position of naturalistic inquiry (constructivism) and utilizes mixed methods, including both quantitative components (an online survey) and qualitative components (document examination of annotations), as well as a video study (distant observation) and follow-up interviews. The study was designed to answer three broad research questions: What is occurring between the reader and text? What does each occurrence mean in the context of active reading? How might the findings of this study be translated into explicit, tangible design?;Cluster analysis and binary logistic regression for the quantitative components and abductive (grounded theory) and retroductive analytical methods for the qualitative components of the study revealed that active reading for heavy annotators and strong advocates of annotating documents involves dynamic, three-dimensional mental and physical activities. These include 14 thematic categories of re-arranging the original text hierarchically (HR) to distinguish levels of importance and re-arranging it horizontally by isolating and foregrounding (TX, SL, EN) and linking (LN) segments; re-designing the text by tagging (TG), adding to (AR, MN, EV, AD, EX, SH), or detaching from (RV) it; and manipulating reading environments, including properties of both the media and physical surroundings (MD).;The study concludes by recommending that ebook devices for heavy annotators and strong advocates of annotating documents be designed in a way that supports or even promotes dynamic, three-dimensional mental and physical activities that have not been fully supported by previous static, two-dimensional text designs. Furthermore, in order to support such activities holistically, it is recommended that ebook device researchers and designers come up with new metaphors (e.g., active reading as assembling Lego blocks, as creating a map while navigating a new city, or as renovating the interior design of a house) by shifting from the old paradigm of reader-as-consumer of static, linear text to a new paradigm of reader-as-producer of dynamic text, a paradigm that grants the reader greater power to manipulate the components of text and medium independently in different ways. |
