Verbal reports as data in text comprehension research: An introduction

The debate surrounding the use of verbal reports in studying psychological processes is examined. The critique of this method offered by R. E. Nisbett & T. D. Wilson ("Telling More Than We Can Know: Verbal Reports on Mental Processes," Psychological Review, 1977, 84, 231-259) & the constraining framework developed by K. A. Ericsson & H. Simon (Protocol Analysis: Verbal Reports as Data, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1984) are discussed. The use of verbal report methods in text research is discussed. Some innovative uses of verbal report methodology embodied in papers in this issue are described. 44 References. B. Annesser Murray