The persistence of print among university students: An exploratory study

•Digital reading is increasingly replacing print for academic and pleasure reading.•We surveyed 429 university students in 5 countries about their reading practices.•Nearly 92% said that they concentrated best when reading in print.•If cost were the same, 4/5 preferred print for both academic and pleasure reading.•Cost and convenience are primary drivers of digital reading adopted in higher education. As use of digital devices has grown, university students (along with faculty and administrators) are considering whether academic reading should be done in print or on digital screens. Some studies have indicated that comprehension in the two media is equivalent, while other research has questioned this conclusion. Furthermore, we have little systematic knowledge about students’ own attitudes and practices regarding reading in hardcopy versus onscreen. The present investigation gathered quantitative and qualitative survey data from 429 university students in the US, Japan, Germany, Slovakia, and India. The quantitative findings revealed high levels of affirmation about advantages of reading in print. Nearly 92% said they concentrated best when reading in print, and more than four-fifths reported that if cost were the same, they would prefer print for both schoolwork and pleasure reading. Students reported they were more likely to re-read printed material than digital; they were also more likely to multitask when reading onscreen. Qualitative questions asked what students liked most and liked least about reading in hardcopy and reading digitally. Using a fine-grained coding scheme, these responses were quantified. Advantages reported for print included ease of annotation and paper’s tactile properties, while among the disadvantages were lack of convenience and expenditure of environmental or monetary resources. The biggest advantage of screen reading was convenience, while the primary disadvantages were eyestrain and distraction.