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>There has never been a scientific study of this question. There have been
>many studies that purported to be scientific, but, from first principles,
>such a study is impossible to design; so it follows that no such study
>has been done.
A lurker on this list who does not wish to unlurk at the moment has
forwarded this information to me:
>From my copy of 'The Graphics of Communication', by Arthur T.Turnbull and
>Russell N. Baird, Ohio University, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
>Inc., ISBN 0-03-066180-3 (I have an old edition from 1968), in the chapter
>on 'Elements of good typography', they refer to the following studies on
>typography, which considering their source are likely "scientific" and not
>"impossible to design":
>
>1 Sir Cyril Burt, A Psychlogical Study of Typography, Cambridge: Cambridge
>University Press, 1959
>2 D.G. Paterson and M. A. Tinker, How to Make Type Readable, New York:
>Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1940
>
>The methods used in legibility testing are (from 'The Graphics of
>communication'):
>1/ Tachistoscope test, which measures reading accuracy of letters and words
>by presenting them in brief exposures to the reader.
>2/ Measuring the ease of distinguishing letters and reading words and
>sentences at varying distances.
>3/ Studies of eye movements, blinking, and indications of reading fatigue.
>Specially designed 'eye camera' is used to record movements over a printed
>area on film. Observations through one-way glass allowing an undetected
>observer to study readers are also utilized.
>4/ Time tests of prose reading followed by a questionnaire to determine the
>extent that the content was retained.
>
>I have not seen these studies. There are likely more scientific studies, and
>recent ones too.
So it would appear that scientific research on readability of fonts
indeed exists.
Regards
Jan Henning
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Jan Henning
ROSEMANN & LAURIDSEN GMBH
Am Schlossberg 14, D-82547 Eurasburg, Germany
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