a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 1 and Development
Abstract
The choice of an efficient document preparation system is an important
decision for
any academic researcher. To assist the research community, we report a
software
usability study in which 40 researchers across different disciplines
prepared
scholarly texts with either Microsoft Word or LaTeX. The probe texts
included
simple continuous text, text with tables and subheadings, and complex text
with
several mathematical equations. We show that LaTeX users were slower than
Word
users, wrote less text in the same amount of time, and produced more
typesetting,
orthographical, grammatical, and formatting errors. On most measures, expert
LaTeX users performed even worse than novice Word users. LaTeX users,
however, more often report enjoying using their respective software. We
conclude
that even experienced LaTeX users may suffer a loss in productivity when
LaTeX is
used, relative to other document preparation systems. Individuals,
institutions, and
journals should carefully consider the ramifications of this finding when
choosing
document preparation strategies, or requiring them of authors. | a*****g
发帖数: 19398 | 2 and Development
Abstract
The choice of an efficient document preparation system is an important
decision for
any academic researcher. To assist the research community, we report a
software
usability study in which 40 researchers across different disciplines
prepared
scholarly texts with either Microsoft Word or LaTeX. The probe texts
included
simple continuous text, text with tables and subheadings, and complex text
with
several mathematical equations. We show that LaTeX users were slower than
Word
users, wrote less text in the same amount of time, and produced more
typesetting,
orthographical, grammatical, and formatting errors. On most measures, expert
LaTeX users performed even worse than novice Word users. LaTeX users,
however, more often report enjoying using their respective software. We
conclude
that even experienced LaTeX users may suffer a loss in productivity when
LaTeX is
used, relative to other document preparation systems. Individuals,
institutions, and
journals should carefully consider the ramifications of this finding when
choosing
document preparation strategies, or requiring them of authors. |
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