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153 lines
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<!--X-Subject: Re: Documentation Metrics -->
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<!--X-Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 03:40:46 -0400 (EDT) -->
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<title>Re: Documentation Metrics</title>
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[<a href="msg04112.html">Date Prev</a>][<a href="msg04114.html">Date Next</a>][<a href="msg04112.html">Thread Prev</a>][<a href="msg04138.html">Thread Next</a>][<a href="maillist.html#04113">Date Index</a>][<a href="threads.html#04113">Thread Index</a>]
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<h1>Re: Documentation Metrics</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><em>To</em>: Sandy Harris <<A HREF="mailto:sandy@storm.ca">sandy@storm.ca</A>></li>
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<li><em>Subject</em>: Re: Documentation Metrics</li>
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<li><em>From</em>: Antti Hietala <<A HREF="mailto:ahietala@iki.fi">ahietala@iki.fi</A>></li>
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<li><em>Date</em>: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 10:42:53 +0300</li>
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<li><em>Cc</em>: LDP-Discuss <<A HREF="mailto:ldp-discuss@lists.debian.org">ldp-discuss@lists.debian.org</A>></li>
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<li><em>In-reply-to</em>: <<a href="msg04111.html">39EBBC98.8DD727C4@storm.ca</a>></li>
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<li><em>Resent-date</em>: Tue, 17 Oct 2000 03:40:46 -0400 (EDT)</li>
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<li><em>Resent-from</em>: <A HREF="mailto:ldp-discuss@lists.debian.org">ldp-discuss@lists.debian.org</A></li>
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<li><em>Resent-message-id</em>: <KUET4D.A.lG.CMA75@murphy></li>
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<li><em>Resent-sender</em>: <A HREF="mailto:ldp-discuss-request@lists.debian.org">ldp-discuss-request@lists.debian.org</A></li>
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<pre>
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On Mon, 16 Oct 2000, Sandy Harris wrote:
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> "David C. Merrill, Ph.D." wrote:
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>
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> > I am working on the set of metrics to be used in reviewing our documents.
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>
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> One thing I'd wonder about is whether any useful metrics can be
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> generated automatically.
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>
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> There's a whole literature on readability indexes based on statistical
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> analysis of things like words per sentence, letters per word. Some of
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Yes, we could create readability indexes fairly easily. Calculation of
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word frequencies and their statistical analysis is indeed one possible
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approach. And there are plenty of tools for doing that. However, I feel
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there may be a little confusion here, correct me if I am wrong. I don't
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think it is 'readability' as such that we are looking for. We are looking
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for 'text accessibility'.
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By text accessibility I mean that which makes texts easy or difficult to
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understand. An accessible text is one which is easy to understand; an
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inaccessible one - one which is difficult. Now, this may sound like a
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self-evident distinction but is actually a major turning point in
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contemporary linguistic research. Readability formulae as objective,
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statistical methods have proven their inadequacy in answering the basic
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question: why is one text difficult to understand while another one is
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easy.
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And the answer lies herein: readability formulae never take the reader
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into account. They examine the text in a vacuum, as if there was no life
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outside it, whereas text accessibility focuses on the reading process as
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an interaction between the text and the reader. The reader's background
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and subject knowledge are crucial factors. That is why David is absolutely
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correct when he starts his metrics with such criteria as 'Audience Type'
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and 'Audience Technical Sophistication' and includes macro level
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structures like 'Style'. In fact, I couldn't be happier to see those on
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the list :)
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Please, don't misunderstand me. I don't mean to depreciate the valuable
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work done by readability analysts. On the contrary, once we acknowledge
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what questions readability formulae can and cannot answer we know where
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they leave us short. Then we can expand the metrics exactly like David
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did.
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My two euro cents worth... :)
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Regards,
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Antti
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--
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Antti Hietala
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Technical Writer
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antti.hietala@iki.fi
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--
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</pre>
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<li><strong><a name="04138" href="msg04138.html">Re: Documentation Metrics</a></strong>
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<ul><li><em>From:</em> Sandy Harris <sandy@storm.ca></li></ul></li>
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</ul></li></ul>
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<li><strong><a name="04111" href="msg04111.html">Re: Documentation Metrics</a></strong>
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<ul><li><em>From:</em> Sandy Harris <sandy@storm.ca></li></ul></li>
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