Problems in the integration of text and graphs

Abstract

The aim of the present investigation was to establish the degree to which undergraduates use information in graphs inserted into written texts. Textbooks typically present graphs as do journals, newspapers, and magazines. Hence, university students repeatedly encounter graphs, both in and out of class, and the general assumption is that they will develop a solid knowledge base about how to interpret graphs by being extensively exposed to them. The present study investigated whether undergraduates integrate text information with accompanying data graph information and to what extent. The results from 100 students indicate that just a minority of the students perform integrative comprehension processes. Most of them attempt to obtain the meaning from the text and process graphs shallowly.