Scanning and Skimming instead of Reading
Monday, August 11th, 2008Literally, at a click of the button in the web browser, Context Organizer instantly identifies the keywords and key sentences by relevance.
There are different methods of reading for different purposes.
The technique we choose depends on the reason for reading; for example, we can read for pleasure, for information, or to complete an assignment.
If we are appraising or reviewing, we may just skim a document. If we are searching for specific facts, we may scan for particular keywords. To get detailed information, we need to dig deeper into the text.
In effect, we adjust our reading speed and our focus depending on our purposes.
Some consider skimming and scanning search techniques rather than reading strategies. However, when reading large volumes of information, skimming and scanningmay be more practical than deep reading.
Usually scanning is the first thing that we do when we select a source for review. It helps answer such questions as:
· Is source relevant to helping me find what I’m looking for?
· Will this give me the answers I’m looking for?
· Is there anything in this related to my interest?
In fact when we are scanning, we are zipping through the whole source, homing in on the important chunks. Scanning gives us a feel for the whole item; it works like a powerful filter and saves us time.
In practice, scanning is a particularly useful technique for reading web pages. For example, we scan Google search results rapidly checking for relevant keywords. We glance at the titles and summaries searching for phrases or keywords that relate to our search.
There is also a deeper rationale for scanning; when we scan, our minds are instantly matching the keywords with the purpose of our query. This instant contextualization is the main reason why scanning is a very effective filter for identifying the relevancy of information.
In my work on developing Context Organizer, we built-in automatic scanning and skimming filters. Literally, at a click of the button in the web browser, Context Organizer instantly identifies the keywords and key sentences by relevance. That means that the users instantly know if the web page is important to them and what the focal points are.
“People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead, they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences.”
You can try out Context Organizer and I would be very glad to hear from you on how it helps you with rapid scanning and reading.
Posted by Henry | No Comments »
