Internet Learning and the Building of Knowledge By Juliann Corte ...

Research in this area has also revealed different results depending on the type of learning outcome examined. For instance, research has indicated that nonlinear designs hinder factual learning and free recall, but they may help learners to see connections between pieces of information (as measured by knowledge density; Eveland, Cortese, et al., 2004; Eveland, Marton, et al., 2004; see also Eveland, Seo, & Marton, 2002); and recognition of information is higher when learning from a linear print presentation than when learning from both linear and nonlinear web presentations (Eveland & Dunwoody, 2001). Also, in a comparison of print versus online news, readers of an online version of theNew York Timeswere less likely to recall and recognize information they encountered than those exposed to the print version of the newspaper (Tewksbury & Althaus, 2000).

Prior knowledge is often considered in this examination between nonlinearity and learning. For instance, in one experiment, although knowledgeable and non-knowledgeable subjects did not differ in their browsing behavior using three different hypermedia formats (linear, nonlinear, and mixed), they did differ in their reading comprehension. Knowledgeable participants achieved higher reading comprehension scores than non-knowledgeable participants using the linear format. Also, non-knowledgeable participants achieved higher reading comprehension scores in the mixed condition than in the linear condition (Calisir & Gurel, 2003). This finding may add support to previous research indicating that non-knowledgeable hypermedia users rely more on navigational aids (such as a map of the hypermedia structure) than knowledgeable users when seeking and retrieving information (McDonald & Stevenson, 1998b). In another study, researchers used a pre / post-knowledge measure and found that participants with low prior subject knowledge increased their overall comprehension of the subject matter when using a hierarchical format (Potelle & Rouet 2003). However, these findings were not replicated in the networked and alphabetical list formats that were also examined. Also, this increase in comprehension only occurred at the global level.