New research indicates students would rather use physical books to do serious reading in the context of studying as opposed to ones available on digital devices.

"The research involved a survey of more than 300 college students from countries around the world, including Japan, Germany, Slovakia, and the U.S., and is all for [American University professor Naomi] Baron’s upcoming book — 'Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World,’” said DigitalTrends.com.

Though Baron says the results for standardized test scores on comprehensive passages are pretty much the same between text on a screen and text in a book, she found that most students prefer the experience of a physical book.

Indeed, 92 percent of students surveyed said they preferred having the physical books as opposed to digital versions.

"Despite the fact that 50 percent of Americans own a tablet or e-reader, and an even greater proportion own smartphones that can also support books and electronic reading materials, Baron has found that owning is not the same thing as enjoying the actual experience,” DigitalTrends.com said.

Many students said digital books hurt their eyes and took away from the experience of enjoying a book.

"One student said, ‘I keep forgetting who the author is. In a print book all I have to do is flip back and I see it.’ There are all kinds of reasons students will give — ‘I have a sense of accomplishment when I finish a book and I want to see it on the shelf,’” said Baron to DigitalTrends.com.

This research is interesting because even though it might be assumed that students would prefer the digital alternative in this day and age, that’s overwhelmingly not the case.

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Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

2/8/2016