This report was written for the purpose of learning some more background information about this field of social science, so that this science fair experiment can be carried out. The information that has been gathered here will be used to create a hypothesis. The experiment that was mentioned above consists of four parts. Each part will require a middle-aged (45 to 64 years old) reader to read over a reading piece and then answer some questions about it, so the idea memory percentage can be determined. In each reading piece, either the column width, font colour, type of font (sans serif versus serif) or font size will be changed. More information about these variables is mentioned below.

The reason that this project exists is because not much research has been done in the field and there is a large amount of public interest. Last year, there was more interest in trying to help students of the Grade 7 level find more efficient study habits and tactics, which was why a study was conducted on the effect of column widths on the idea memory percentage of a seventh grade reader. Over the summer, it was discovered that people that are older and still need to read and remember things need more help than younger people do. The reason that some of the students do not achieve higher scores on tests is because they don't study at all. It is not the format of their notes that causes any problem. This project is a little more straight to the point, instead of another one of those continuation projects. Multiple studies in one experiment will be conducted in order to reach a good conclusion. Hopefully, this will help the people that do need help with remembering things that they read each day. In the rest of this report, details regarding the four manipulated variables of this experiment, and the one responding variable that is consistent throughout the entire four studies will be covered.

In the first experiment, the effect of the font size of the reading piece on the idea memory percentage of the reader will be tested.  The manipulated variable of this experiment is the font size. The font size affects the column width, and vice versa. When there is a larger column width, a larger font size is required to make it all seem more proportionate. When the column width is smaller, then a smaller font size is needed. Font size is also based on readership. A larger font size is needed for the younger and older readers, in order to achieve a comfortable way to read, since declining vision may come with old age. Readers with visual handicap, or are aged 65 and over, should read with a font size of 14 to 18 points. The middle-aged group of people, who are aged 45 to 64, should read with a font size of 11 to 12 points. If the reading material is directed towards a
general audience, then a font size of 10 to 11 points is good. Younger children and beginning readers should read with a large font size of around 14 points or so. Headlines should be written at 14 to 20 points, or in a manner where it can be distinguished from the text. The 8H rule should be used to calculate the appropriate font size in some cases, for different sized printing paper. H stands for the height of the paper, and it should be multiplied by 8 for the maximum distance that the paper is away from the readers eyes, in order for a clear view of every word to be obtained. The font size should not be 1/25 smaller than the height of the paper. To calculate the correct font size, the height of the paper must first be calculated in centimetres. Since each centimetre is approximately 28.25 points, multiply the height of the paper by that in order to get the height of the paper in points. Divide that number by 25 in order to determine the minimum font size in points that is required for that page. The information that has been learned through research relates to this experiment because now it is known how to determine the font sizes needed for the reading pieces in the experiment. These rules and information will also be tested to see if it is correct.

For the second experiment, the effect of the type of font (sans serif versus serif) on the idea memory percentage of the reader will be tested. The manipulated variable in this experiment is the type of font. Sans serif fonts are less legible, as serif fonts are better for reading continuously. Serif fonts have small finishing strokes on the arms and stems of the letters in order to form a link between the letters, since when we read, we recognize the shapes instead of the letters in our minds. Long passages of words shouldn't be written in sans serif fonts, since it is only good for headlines, captions, or short passages of text. Sans serif fonts look better when they are aligned to vertical and horizontal lines, and are loosely spaced at 8 points and below. Serif fonts are most commonly used, but when they are bolded or unusual, they can distract the reader. Serifs have a more subdued, formal and serious look, while sans serif fonts have a crisper, bolder and more informal look. Sans serif is better for smaller fonts, as serif fonts that are printed from 300 dots per inch or lower on a low quality printer or textured paper may lose its detail in thin strokes and delicate serifs. Serif means an extra stroke found on the end of a main vertical or horizontal stroke of some letters, being attached at a 90 degree angle to the letter, with it being sharp-edged and unbracketed. Sans serif means no serif. Sans serif fonts slow down the reading speed due to the fewer characteristics, which the reader is supposed to use as a method of identification, but they are easier to read on a computer screen, as they are more legible. Some also say that serif fonts are the best for textually dense pages on the computer. The most popular sans serif fonts include: Arial, Verdana, Tahoma and Helvetica (which is the font that this research paper is written in). The most popular serif fonts include: Times New Roman, Garamond and Century Schoolbook. The information that has been gathered here can be used to determine which fonts will be used in the experiment, and why.

For the third experiment, the effect of the font colour of the reading piece on the idea memory percentage of the reader will be tested. The manipulated variable in this experiment is the font colour. An older audience of readers needs increased contrast between the font and the background. For example, a grey font colour against a yellow background is distinguishable for people who have beginning cataracts, which is a clouding of the natural lens in the eye. It is difficult to present information with short wavelengths like blues colours, since short wavelengths have lower resolution due to the ocular media, which is the middle of the eye. There is lower sampling by the cone mosaic, which is the photosensitive surface of one of the photoreceptors in the eye that is responsible for daylight and colour vision. Readability decreases when text is presented in short wave light. It is bad to mix colours on extreme ends of the spectrum, like blues or reds, as they fatigue the eyes easier due to different focal lengths. Reds have long wavelengths, which are focussed more at the back of the eye. Blues are focussed  closer to the middle of the eye. Legibility depends on the contrast in luminance between the text and the background. Dark coloured text on a light background is the easiest to read since luminance from the screen comes around letters instead of from the letters when there is a dark background. Warm colours appeal to the viewer more than cool colours, which fade into the background. Warm colours are reds, oranges, and yellows, while cool colours are blues, purples and greens. This information will be used to determine which colours will be used to test.

For the fourth and final experiment, the effect of the column width of a reading piece on the idea memory percentage of a reader will be tested. The manipulated variable of this experiment is the column width. It is affected by the Reading Process. The human eyes move from left to right and sweeps down to the next line, which is also known as eye rhythm. The eyes stop at certain points so words can be seen and comprehended. This fixation lasts about 1/4th of a second. During the fixation time, there is a specific eye span that can see from a single word to a whole phrase, usually being 2.5 words for a good reader. An average reader sees less than that, with an ordinary radius maximum of 2 inches around the fixation point. This is basically just 29 letter spaces, with 17 clearly seen. When things are see, they are divided into thought units such as nouns of verbs of the sentences. Lower case letters are better for recognition, since things are perceived by shape, and lower case letters have more of a shape difference from one another. Numbers are fixated on more than words because the eyes think that numbers have a simpler configuration. Each reader has a different recognition rate, which is how fast the person understands the words. To calculate the column width, there is an alphabet-and-a-half rule. Column widths are always measured in either inches or picas. The column width must be at 39 characters regardless of the font size. There is also the point-times-two rule, which consists of the font size being multiplied by two. The product of that is the column width in picas. It can also be determined by the book design's underlying grid. Linear reading, like in a novel, only requires a simple single column layout. The column width is controlled by other things like the width of the page, the font size and the number of words and characters. This information will be used to determine the column widths that will be used for the reading pieces.

For all the experiments, there is one consistent responding variable: the idea memory percentage. It is the number of questions correctly answered over the total number of questions, which is 10. The brain has four hemispheres: frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital. Different parts of the brain help remember different memories. The parahippocampal gyrus in the temporal part of the brain helps remember things, as the left hemisphere is used for processing words. When reading sentences, the working memory holds on to information for a short amount of time so the reader can read a complete sentence and understand it. Once the next sentence is read, that is forgotten. This is known as the chronological loop, which stores words, digits, and bits of speech temporarily. It also helps put together the sounds of new words, and stores this information in the storage compartment located in the back of the parietal lobe. When information is rehearsed, it stimulates the lower left frontal cortex, for short term transience. Memories are encoded by modifications in strength of connections among neurons in the brain. A chemical change occurs at synapses, which are junctions connecting the neurons with one another when a new fact is acquired. Neural connections encoding memories weaken over time. This is the possible shape of the Ebbinghaus curve, which will be mentioned later on. NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors help the flow of information from one neuron to another across the synapses. Memories form when synaptic connections are strong and active at the same time. They open when two different signals are received at the same time, which triggers the facilitated neural processing called long term potentiation, which helps increase synapse connections and memory formation. The receptor stays open longer at a younger age than at an older age, making it easier for younger people to form new connections. It has been confirmed that a loss of information across a delay of time is faster and observed at an earlier age in less educated people than in more. 50 to 70 year old adults have a greater difficulty remembering learned content, based on studies. When they can remember as well as young people across a delay of a few minutes, they forget more across a delay of days or weeks. Memory deficits are most evident when older adults must recall the when and where of a specific event. Only powerful reminders can help bring up some forgotten memories. The best way to remember things is just to turn the memory into a visual image, but it is hard to do so because a lot of cognitive resources are required. Older adults do not really have a lot of choice, because it has been scientifically proven that memory improvement programs do not work on them. A better way is to just simply keep asking questions about memories in order to keep them in the head. Post-menopausal women have memory loss problems as well, due to the low levels of estrogen hormones. This information that has been learned will be used in the conclusion and hypothesis to infer what will happen and why. It will help provide a logical explanation.
     
While research was being gathered for this project, a lot of other interesting information was found. It turns out that there are a lot of other people who conducted some experiments that are related to this field of science. There was an experiment where there were six foreground/background colour combinations, three font types (Arial, Courier New, Times New Roman) and two word styles (italicized and plain). The readability of web sites was investigated. Readers would scan the web site for the target word, with the readability being inferred from the reaction time. There was no specific result that affected the readability in the end. Also, there was a similar experiment like that as well, except there were different alignments (centre, right, left) instead of colour, type or style. Last year, I did an experiment on the effect of column widths on the idea
memory percentage of Grade 7 students. I had gifted students versus normal students, and I sorted the results into the learning style groups (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, combination). Normal students did better than the gifted students with the two inch column and the four inch column, but the gifted students did best with the six inch column. Overall, it was concluded that the six inch column was the best format overall for everybody. This field of science was examined by scientists of the past as well. A philosopher named Hermann Ebbinghaus published some experiment results in 1885. Time affects memory, so the longer the time, the more is forgotten. He learned and relearned thousands of meaningless letter strings, or "nonsense syllables". He tested himself six different times after studying the list, with a delay range from one hour to one month. He discovered a rapid drop-off retention during the first few tests after nine hours of studying. He forgot 60% of the list at this time. The rate of forgetting slowed down afterwards. After one month, 75% of the list was forgotten. The tests were conducted only on himself, in the confines of a laboratory away from the everyday life. In conclusion, most forgetting occurs during the early delays and slows down at the later ones. This is known as the Ebbinghaus curve. In a recent Dutch study, there were different age groups tested: ages 65 to 69, 70 to 74, 75 to 79 and 80 to 85, with people being well educated, and not. They were given a list of words to learn and recall immediately, and after a 30 minute delay. The 65 to 69 year old group retained 69% after the delay, with the combined result of the well educated and not well educated people. The 80 to 85 year old group with high education retained 60%, and the lower education people retained less than 50%. All of these experiments may relate to Alzeheimer's, and people may someday be able to use this information to predict who will get it. Neurobiologists led by Joseph Tsien overexpressed NMDA receptors in mice, which led to more activity in the brains. The mice had enhanced memory capabilities afterwards, so older mice could learn just as well as the younger ones. Perhaps someday these results can all be combined in order to discover something fantastic that will truly benefit the world.
       
I learned a lot about my manipulated and responding variables. I learned that all the manipulated variables affect one another and determine the overall readability. I also learned about some of the formulas required in order to calculate the manipulated variables of my experiment. It is not just simply a "guess and check" technique. I will follow those formulas to either prove them right, or wrong. I learned about the different parts of the brain, and how humans remember what they read. There are different types of memory that use different parts of our brain for many purposes.

Now that I have obtained this valuable information, I can plan my manipulated variables and also use this information in my oral presentation. For my first experiment, which tests font size, I will use the fonts suggested by the information I researched. I will use the sizes: 10, 13 and 16 points. For my second experiment, which tests serif versus sans serif fonts, I will use the most common font from each category. It is Times New Roman for the serif font, and Arial for the sans serif font. For testing the font colour, which is the third experiment, I will use three different font colours: black; since it is the most commonly used colour, blue; since it is supposedly harder to read; and yellow; due to the low contrast between the paper colour and it. For the fourth experiment, which is testing the column width, I will use three column widths: the two inch, the four inch, and the six inch, since these are all the most commonly used formats. Since I now have enough knowledge to do my experiment, I am ready to hypothesize. I think that the size 13 points is going to be the best font size for this age group, serif fonts will work better for the font type, black will work best for the font colour and the four inch column width will work best. This information will prove to be useful in the near future.

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