1. EyeTrack: Tablet Research
THE POYNTER INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA STUDIES
#poyntertab

2. How do people
choose what to
read on a tablet?

3. And how do they read,
once they choose?

5. We asked them.

6. We asked them.

7. We watched them.

9. And we looked closely
at how they interacted
with the stories.

11. THE PEOPLE:
We tested 36 people who had each used
a tablet for at least six months.
Female 52% 48% Male

12. THE PEOPLE:
We tested two, distinct age groups.
18-28 years old 48% 52% 45-55 years old
“Printnets”

13. THE PEOPLE:
We tested two, distinct age groups.
“Digital Natives” “Printnets”
18-28 years old 48% 52% 45-55 years old

14. THE PEOPLE:
We tested two, distinct age groups.
“Digital Natives” “Printnets”
18-28 years old 48% 52% 45-55 years old
Among the first adults Referring to one foot in
who don’t have strong the print world, one foot
recollection of life in the “’Net” world.
before digital.

15. THE TESTING PROTOCOL:
Testing was done over the summer of 2012.
Recruited participants were told that they would be with us for 90 minutes
for a study about reading on tablets, but we did not tell them how long they
had to read.

16. THE TESTING PROTOCOL:
The eyetracking glasses contained two small
cameras — one that recorded eye movement
and another that recorded where the reader looked.

17. THE TESTING PROTOCOL:
We standardized experience to limit variables.
We used one kind of tablet, an iPad presented
in landscape orientation on a wedge-like pillow.

18. THE TESTING PROTOCOL:
We asked them to read for first for five minutes.
We wanted them to be comfortable in the
testing environment.

19. THE TESTING PROTOCOL:
Each person then read one of our prototypes
for approximately ten minutes.

20. The Poynter prototypes
Our home page designs were inspired by
common navigation styles currently
in the news market.

21. THE PROTOTYPES:
Traditional, INSPIRED BY THE BOSTON GLOBE AND THE NEW YORK TIMES

22. THE PROTOTYPES:
Carousel, INSPIRED BY NPR AND PULSE

23. THE PROTOTYPES:
Tile, INSPIRED BY FLIPBOARD

24. We wanted to compare how people chose a story.
Traditional Carousel Tile

25. We wanted to compare how people chose a story.
Traditional Carousel Tile
Once they made
a choice, we
analyzed how
they read.

26. We wanted to compare how people chose a story.
Traditional Carousel Tile
Once they made There was one,
a choice, we unified design for
analyzed how the stories.
they read.

27. Traditional Carousel Tile

28. The stories
Our designs were rather simple—
created as a baseline for research.

29. THE STORIES: TEXT WITH A STILL PHOTO

30. THE STORIES: TEXT WITH A STILL GRAPHIC
A Lost Secret: The once and future way to run

31. THE STORIES: SLIDESHOWS

32. THE STORIES: SLIDESHOWS

33. THE STORIES: TEXT WITH A VIDEO

34. THE STORIES: VIDEO

35. THE STORIES: POP-UP GRAPHICS

36. THE STORIES: POP-UP GRAPHICS

37. THE STORIES: POP-UP GRAPHICS

38. POP-UP GRAPHICS

39. POP-UP GRAPHICS

40. POP-UP GRAPHICS

41. POP-UP GRAPHICS

42. POP-UP GRAPHICS

43. THE STORIES:
There were five still photos.
NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS LIFE
Extra Olympics “Higher Ed” is Leakey: Skepticism
Suspect shoots pay for London the a big problem over evolution will
Still photo himself after chase subway staff for the NCAA soon be history
Belief in global Home prices rise The once and Recommendations
Still graphic warming grows around the U.S. future way to run for summer reading
A stray bullet, a Nurturing a baby Best sports photos Proud of service, a
Photo gallery world of adjustment and a start-up of the year vet battles PTSD
for blind boy
How population Graduating into Mariano Rivera’s Dancing cop takes
Video grew to 7 billion debt: soaring costs one-of-a-kind, “Travolta Moves”
signature pitch to the streets
Japan tsunami Which cities have Kobe Bryant vs. Survey shows how
Pop-up debris floats closer the competitive Michael Jordan the world surfs the
edge? internet

44. THE STORIES:
There were five still graphics.
NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS LIFE
Extra Olympics “Higher Ed” is Leakey: Skepticism
Suspect shoots pay for London the a big problem over evolution will
Still photo himself after chase subway staff for the NCAA soon be history
Belief in global Home prices rise The once and Recommendations
Still graphic warming grows around the U.S. future way to run for summer reading
A stray bullet, a Nurturing a baby Best sports photos Proud of service, a
Photo gallery world of adjustment and a start-up of the year vet battles PTSD
for blind boy
How population Graduating into Mariano Rivera’s Dancing cop takes
Video grew to 7 billion debt: soaring costs one-of-a-kind, “Travolta Moves”
signature pitch to the streets
Japan tsunami Which cities have Kobe Bryant vs. Survey shows how
Pop-up debris floats closer the competitive Michael Jordan the world surfs the
edge? internet

45. THE STORIES:
There were five photo galleries.
NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS LIFE
Extra Olympics “Higher Ed” is Leakey: Skepticism
Suspect shoots pay for London the a big problem over evolution will
Still photo himself after chase subway staff for the NCAA soon be history
Belief in global Home prices rise The once and Recommendations
Still graphic warming grows around the U.S. future way to run for summer reading
A stray bullet, a Nurturing a baby Best sports photos Proud of service, a
Photo gallery world of adjustment and a start-up of the year vet battles PTSD
for blind boy
How population Graduating into Mariano Rivera’s Dancing cop takes
Video grew to 7 billion debt: soaring costs one-of-a-kind, “Travolta Moves”
signature pitch to the streets
Japan tsunami Which cities have Kobe Bryant vs. Survey shows how
Pop-up debris floats closer the competitive Michael Jordan the world surfs the
edge? internet

46. THE STORIES:
There were five videos.
NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS LIFE
Extra Olympics “Higher Ed” is Leakey: Skepticism
Suspect shoots pay for London the a big problem over evolution will
Still photo himself after chase subway staff for the NCAA soon be history
Belief in global Home prices rise The once and Recommendations
Still graphic warming grows around the U.S. future way to run for summer reading
A stray bullet, a Nurturing a baby Best sports photos Proud of service, a
Photo gallery world of adjustment and a start-up of the year vet battles PTSD
for blind boy
How population Graduating into Mariano Rivera’s Dancing cop takes
Video grew to 7 billion debt: soaring costs one-of-a-kind, “Travolta Moves”
signature pitch to the streets
Japan tsunami Which cities have Kobe Bryant vs. Survey shows how
Pop-up debris floats closer the competitive Michael Jordan the world surfs the
edge? internet

47. THE STORIES:
There were five pop-up graphics.
NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS LIFE
Extra Olympics “Higher Ed” is Leakey: Skepticism
Suspect shoots pay for London the a big problem over evolution will
Still photo himself after chase subway staff for the NCAA soon be history
Belief in global Home prices rise The once and Recommendations
Still graphic warming grows around the U.S. future way to run for summer reading
A stray bullet, a Nurturing a baby Best sports photos Proud of service, a
Photo gallery world of adjustment and a start-up of the year vet battles PTSD
for blind boy
How population Graduating into Mariano Rivera’s Dancing cop takes
Video grew to 7 billion debt: soaring costs one-of-a-kind, “Travolta Moves”
signature pitch to the streets
Japan tsunami Which cities have Kobe Bryant vs. Survey shows how
Pop-up debris floats closer the competitive Michael Jordan the world surfs the
edge? internet

48. THE STORIES: POP-UP GRAPHICS

49. FINDINGS
This is how they chose
what to read.

50. THE PEOPLE:
More people expressed a preference for using
a tablet in a horizontal or landscape orientation.
70%
Landscape 30% Portrait

51. THE PEOPLE:
More people expressed a preference for using
a tablet in a horizontal or landscape orientation.
70%
Landscape 30% Portrait

52. THE PROTOTYPES:
83 percent said the traditional prototype was
most similar to what they regularly use.
Carousel
Traditional
83%
13%
4%
Tile

53. THE PROTOTYPES:
50 percent said they would choose
the carousel design.
Carousel
Traditional 50%
35%
15%
Tile

54. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the tile design:
“It’s tidier. I can get through it to save time.”

55. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the tile design:
“It’s tidier. I can get through it to save time.”
“(It) is more focused.”

56. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the tile design:
“It’s tidier. I can get through it to save time.”
“(It) is more focused.”
BUT OTHER PEOPLE SAID ...
“Makes me work too hard.”

57. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the tile design:
“It’s tidier. I can get through it to save time.”
“(It) is more focused.”
BUT OTHER PEOPLE SAID ...
“Makes me work too hard.”
“Makes me do another click.”

58. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the tile design:
“It’s tidier. I can get through it to save time.”
“(It) is more focused.”
BUT OTHER PEOPLE SAID ...
“Makes me work too hard.”
“Makes me do another click.”
“I definitely don’t like the
‘mystery meat’ of having
to guess what’s behind
an image.”

59. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the traditional design:
“I like hierarchy.”

60. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the traditional design:
“I like hierarchy.”
“I am big on written context.
That’s just me. The more
description I can get, the
more I like it.”

61. THE PROTOTYPES:
Comments about the traditional design:
“I like hierarchy.”
“I am big on written context.
That’s just me. The more
description I can get, the
more I like it.”
“I don’t want to see a
democratized judgement.
I like to see that some editor
has made a judgement for me
about what is important.”

62. THE PROTOTYPES:
The carousel was the favorite, but it also drew the
most intense reactions, both pro and con.
Carousel
Traditional 50%
35%
15%
Tile

63. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who liked the carousel design said:
“It’s like a food buffet—you know what looks appetizing.”

64. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who liked the carousel design said:
“It’s like a food buffet—you know what looks appetizing.”
“The carousel gives me a
quicker idea of what’s
there to read.”

65. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who liked the carousel design said:
“It’s like a food buffet—you know what looks appetizing.”
“The carousel gives me a
quicker idea of what’s
there to read.”
“I am always drawn to photos
first. The carousel seems to
give me more choices than
the other designs.”

66. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who liked the carousel design said:
“It’s like a food buffet—you know what looks appetizing.”
“The carousel gives me a
quicker idea of what’s
there to read.”
“I am always drawn to photos
first. The carousel seems to
give me more choices than
the other designs.”
“Pictures can say a lot.”

67. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who liked the carousel design said:
“It’s like a food buffet—you know what looks appetizing.”
“The carousel gives me a
quicker idea of what’s
there to read.”
“I am always drawn to photos
first. The carousel seems to
give me more choices than
the other designs.”
“Pictures can say a lot.”
“It helps me to make a
decision quickly.”

68. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
Carousel

69. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
“The carousel is too busy. Carousel
I don’t know which to
look at first.”

70. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
“The carousel is too busy. Carousel
I don’t know which to
look at first.”
“The carousel prevents me
from focusing on the print.”

71. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
“The carousel is too busy. Carousel
I don’t know which to
look at first.”
“The carousel prevents me
from focusing on the print.”
“I don’t like carousels.
I (end up looking at)
stupid stuff because I look
at the photos, instead of
the headlines. I would
never want to read about
the Broadway show, ‘Cats,’
but I am drawn to the photo!”

72. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
“The carousel is too busy.
I don’t know which to
look at first.”
“The carousel prevents me
from focusing on the print.”
“I don’t like carousels.
I (end up looking at)
stupid stuff because I look
at the photos, instead of
the headlines. I would
never want to read about
the Broadway show, ‘Cats,’
but I am drawn to the photo!”

73. THE PROTOTYPES:
People who didn’t like the carousel design said:
“The carousel might be overwhelming.
“The carousel is too busy.
I don’t know which to
look at first.”
“The carousel prevents me
from focusing on the print.”
“I don’t like carousels.
I (end up looking at)
stupid stuff because I look
at the photos, instead of
the headlines. I would
never want to read about
the Broadway show, ‘Cats,’
but I am drawn to the photo!”

74. FINDINGS
The behaviors

75. THE BEHAVIORS:
People tended to enter through a dominant element.

76. THE BEHAVIORS:
This echoes earlier EyeTrack findings.
X

77. THE BEHAVIORS:
In lieu of a clear dominant element,
faces also drew a lot of attention.

78. THE BEHAVIORS:
In lieu of a clear dominant element,
faces also drew a lot of attention.

79. THE BEHAVIORS:
People fixated 18 times before choosing
their first story.

80. THE BEHAVIORS:
People fixated 18 times before choosing
their first story.
X X X X
X X
X
X X
X X
X X X XX
X X

81. THE BEHAVIORS:
But …

82. THE BEHAVIORS:
… People who did not finish reading their first story
fixated only nine times before choosing.
X X
X X
X
X X X X

83. THE BEHAVIORS:
An overall average of a minute and a half
(98.3 seconds) was spent on the first story
a person selected to read.

84. THE BEHAVIORS:
An overall average of a minute and a half
(98.3 seconds) was spent on the first story
a person selected to read.
Of the people who did not finish reading a story,
they read for an average of 78.3 seconds
before leaving the story entirely.

85. THE BEHAVIORS:
An overall average of a minute and a half
(98.3 seconds) was spent on the first story
a person selected to read.
Of the people who did not finish reading a story,
they read for an average of 78.3 seconds
before leaving the story entirely.
We’ve been calling this the “bail out point.”

86. THE BEHAVIORS:
And it might be a good benchmark for
establishing a “gold coin” like a simple
pullout quote or visual element that
keeps the reader engaged about
halfway through a long story.

87. THE BEHAVIORS:
67 percent used native controls, like the back button
to get to their second story.

88. THE BEHAVIORS:
… even though nav tools were built in.

89. THE BEHAVIORS:
… even though nav tools were built in.
People will default to what they know—if it’s available.

90. THE BEHAVIORS:
Very few people used thumbnails to progress through
the gallery. The majority used advance buttons.

91. FINDINGS
This is how they read.

92. THE BEHAVIORS:
About half of the people tested read methodically,
while half read in a scanning manner.
Methodical readers 48% 52% Scanning readers

93. THE BEHAVIORS:
About half of the people tested read methodically,
while half read in a scanning manner.
Methodical readers 48% 52% Scanning readers
Often read in sequence.
Tended to read story lists
from top to bottom.
Might have looked away from text
to other elements, but went back
to the same place.
Tended to read captions.

94. THE BEHAVIORS:
About half of the people tested read methodically,
while half read in a scanning manner.
Methodical readers 48% 52% Scanning readers
Often read in sequence. Looked at headlines, lists
and other display elements
Tended to read story lists without much text reading.
from top to bottom.
Read part of a story, jumped
Might have looked away from text to photos or other elements
to other elements, but went back without going back to the same
to the same place. place in the text.
Tended to read captions.

95. THE BEHAVIORS:
About half of the people tested read methodically,
while half read in a scanning manner.
Printnets Digital Natives
45-55 years 18-28 years
76% Methodical
75%
Scanning
24% 25%
Methodical
Scanning

96. THE BEHAVIORS:
61 percent of readers touched the screen frequently.
Others were more hands off.
Detached readers 39% 61% Intimate readers

97. THE BEHAVIORS:
61 percent of readers touched the screen frequently.
Others were more hands off.
Detached readers 39% 61% Intimate readers
Touched the iPad screen
infrequently, making
deliberate choices to touch.
Looked thoroughly to decide before
they tapped or swiped.
Tended to touch carefully to
arrange a full screen of text,
then sat back to read.

98. THE BEHAVIORS:
61 percent of readers touched the screen frequently.
Others were more hands off.
Detached readers 39% 61% Intimate readers
Touched the iPad screen Touched the iPad screen
infrequently, making frequently, or kept constant
deliberate choices to touch. contact with it.
Looked thoroughly to decide before Tended to read one or two
they tapped or swiped. lines of text, then made subtle,
frequent swipes to move a
Tended to touch carefully to few more lines of text into
arrange a full screen of text, their field of vision.
then sat back to read.

99. THE BEHAVIORS:
Detached reading behavior.

100. THE BEHAVIORS:
Intimate reading behavior.

101. THE BEHAVIORS: INTIMATE READING BEHAVIOR
These readers use their finger like a teleprompter.

102. THE BEHAVIORS: INTIMATE READING BEHAVIOR
An analog tool helped people keep their place, a digital
version might have a place in tablet design, too.

103. FINDINGS
Here’s why this was
worth your time.

104. WHAT THEY CHOSE TO READ:
Tablet users have a high number of
fixations before making a selection.

105. WHAT THEY CHOSE TO READ:
Often, they fixate on the same story
multiple times before choosing it.

106. WHAT THEY CHOSE TO READ:
More fixations before a selection
suggests the user is more likely to
read to completion.

107. HOW THEY READ:
80-90 seconds was the critical
‘bail out point.’

108. HOW THEY READ:
80-90 seconds was the critical
‘bail out point.’
Offer them something
good, to keep them
reading.

109. HOW THEY READ:
Younger readers are more
likely to be scanners.

110. HOW THEY READ:
Younger readers are more
likely to be scanners.
Older readers are more
likely to be methodical.

111. HOW THEY READ:
Younger readers are more
likely to be scanners.
Older readers are more
likely to be methodical.
Both read deeply, when they
found what they wanted.

112. And next?

113. squinn@poynter.org
@gotoplanb
mario@garcia-media.com