Coherence or interest as basis for improving hypertext comprehension

Educational hypertext aims to improve the reader’s comprehension by providing flexible access to information. However, this flexibility imposes additional tasks upon a reader who is used to gaining information in a linear manner. One of these difficulties is in choosing the reading order of the hypertext sections. In the present work, we explore two possible strategies to decide the reading order in hypertext: strategies based on coherence and interest. Results of two laboratory experiments reveal that a semantically coherent reading order improves comprehension for novice readers. Finally, we focus on ways to analyze coherence of the reading order, and how to promote it in educational hypertexts.