Communication of Empirical Knowledge: An Investigation of Readability and Quality of Research in Textiles and Apparel

Abstract

This study employs both objective and subjective testing to examine readability and quality of research in textiles and apparel. Flesch scores provided a quantitative measure of the readability of passages taken from published research in the field. U.S. active/reserve and graduate student members of ITAA (n = 208) completed subject specific questionnaires for the subjective portion of the study. Responses to open-ended questions reveal that clarity, structure, and terminology are most frequently mentioned when explaining perceptions of readability while value and methods are concepts closely related to definitions of journal quality. Positive correlations between readability and quality (p ≤ .01) contrast findings in previous research. Time constraints facing today's academic community are noted as the primary reason for the need for published research to be readable and comprehensible.