With the advances in technology, do people prefer to use audio and eBooks over printed textbooks?

1. Audio, Electronic, and Textbooks
Bobby Mason and Jake Howard | Virginia Commonwealth University December 2017
Research Question
With the advances in technology, do people
prefer to use audio and eBooks over printed
textbooks?
Hypothesis
• H1 – Electronic, and Audio-books will be preferred amongst the
younger generation since it is more convenient.
• H2 - Textbooks will be preferred more since the majority of people
are more familiar with it.
Methods
Participants
• The participants of this study are comprised of 32 random respondents.
Survey
• An original survey was developed using Google Forms as a data
gathering tool for the specific purpose of this study.
Procedures
• The respondents were reached by email and requested to complete the
5-10 minute-long survey. The participants were informed briefly on the
purpose of the study and any information to be obtained would only be
used for the stated purpose of this study.
References
Results Conclusion
• According to the research findings, 81.3% of our respondents state
that they would prefer to use printed books over an e-book. Among
the respondents, fewer (18.8%) reported using an e-book. For
those who reported using an audio-book, the majority used it for
casual reading rather than studying. A limitation to the study was
that not all respondents ages were recorded (11). In conclusion,
according to our data, textbooks are still preferred overall over
electronic and audio-books across all ages but, this doesn’t
represent the majority of people.
• Independent – Age, Ethnicity, Gender
• Dependent – Printed-Books, Electronic-Books, Audio-Books
Further Research
Demographics
Introduction
Overwhelmingly, the majority of the respondents report that printed materials will
always be around, even as technology advances to allow other options such as e-
books and audio books. Further research will be needed to explore the use of audio
and e-books. For instance if the use of e-books or audio books increases in K-12
schools, that could tremendously increase the use of these platforms later in life
because people will be more accustomed to using them.
Previous research has demonstrated that the experience of reading e-
books is not equivalent to reading textbooks. This study examines factors
influencing preference for e-books as well as reported use of e-book
content and audio content. Although the younger respondents are more
technologically savvy than older respondents, both the older and the
younger respondents do not prefer e-books over textbooks regardless of
their gender, age, and race. No significant correlations existed between
the number of e-books previously used and overall preference of e-books.
Participants who had previously used an e-book still preferred print texts
for everyday use. Despite the ability to easily access supplemental
content through e-books via hyperlinks and other features, people were
more likely to use printed books since more people are familiar with
printed books and the ease of use over an e-book.
• Woody, William, et al. “E-Books or Textbooks Students Prefer Textbooks.” Computers &
Education, Pergamon, 18 Apr. 2010,
• Gonca, C., Esra, S., & Kerem, T. (2013). E-Book versus Printed Materials: Preferences of
University Students. Contemporary Educational Technology, 4(2), 121-135.
• Larson, L. C. (2015). E-Books and Audiobooks. Reading Teacher, 69(2), 169-177.
doi:10.1002/trtr.1371