Reader Feedback in Text Design: Validity of the Plus-minus Method for the Pretesting of Public Information BrochuresBrochures play a significant role in governmental public information provision. Every year many brochures are distributed to inform, instruct or persuade people. These brochures may benefit from a systematic design process, including applied research such as pretesting. Among communication professionals, the importance of pretesting is practically undisputed. Readers from the target audience are assumed to provide valuable insights into whether a document really works. Organizations therefore increasingly try to include a pretest in the design process of important documents. Various pretest methods have been developed and are being used in practice. However, little is known yet about the merits and restrictions of the available approaches. This book provides a framework for scholarly research into pretesting, and presents a series of studies into the validity of one particular pretest instrument: a combination of the plus-minus method and a semi-structured questionnaire. This is one of the prevailing pretest approaches in the Dutch public information sector. The validity of the pretest instrument is assessed in two complementary ways. First, the question is addressed as to whether a revision on the basis of pretest results actually leads to an improvement in the functional quality of brochures. Second, a study is presented in which text and subject-matter experts judge the importance of pretest results. The pretest instrument appears to yield a large amount and a great variety of reader feedback, which in a subsequent revision may contribute to significant improvements in the effectiveness of brochures. |
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analysis approach basis of pretest brochure titles brochure units brochure's Chapter compared comprehension problems comprehension questions condom Cronbach's alpha design process document design effects Enschede first-job brochure focused folder function graphic design heuristic evaluation importance ratings improvements indicate informative and instructional instructional brochures inter-rater reliability Jong & Schellens judge mean number motivated-choice Nielsen Niet mee eens number of problems overall assessment P.J. Schellens percent persuasive brochures plus-minus method pluses and minuses predictive validity pretest instrument pretest methods pretest results problem types problems detected public information brochures questionnaire read the brochure reader feedback reader problems relevant rent subsidy rent-subsidy brochure reported research design revised brochure revised version revision phase revision-based studies Safe sex safe-sex brochure sample size Schriver second alcohol brochure specific Steehouder Table target audience text-evaluation questions think-aloud troubleshooting pretest types of problems University of Twente usability problems usability test validity of pretest Victim victim-aid brochure
Popular passages
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Page 141 - Taalverkeersproblemen tussen overheid en burger. Een onderzoek naar verbeteringsmogelijkheden van voorlichtingsteksten en formulieren.
Page 148 - Tessmer, M. (1993). Planning and conducting formative evaluations: Improving the quality of education and training. London: Kogan Page.