3 ms·

I wonder which version of Word the study used. I couldn't find anything about that.

• Someone1234 12y ago
  Strangely it doesn't list which version of either was used. Which is super odd to me as it may be relevant when others try to reproduce the study.
  • cefstat 12y ago
    The main problem in reproducing the study is that it is very vague what counted as a formatting error. It would have been very reasonable to just upload the output from each participant so that the analysis of the results could be reproduced. But the main problem of the study is not its reproducibility. The main problem is that it is designed in a completely wrong way and it cannot seriously claim to answer the questions it pretends that it answers.
• cefstat 12y ago
  The following appears verbatim in the "Supporting Material": > The study was conducted when most of the participants in the Word groups used Word Version 12. Only 3 participants used older versions of Microsoft Word. Newer Versions of Word include a new Equation editor that makes the software even more powerful and easier to use. The authors of the article are, obviously, completely unbiased.
  • dubya 12y ago
    I think one big plus for LaTeX is its slowly changing nature. Word was appalling 15-20 years ago for writing technical papers. If you gave up then and learned TeX/LaTeX, you're most likely over the learning hump by now and have just needed to learn the occasional new package.
    • Fomite 12y ago
      On the other hand, with Word's vastly improved equation-handling capabilities, if you haven't gotten over the learning hump yet, there's a diminishing return for doing so. I have, for example, never really felt the need, and learning LaTeX has always been binned for "It'll be slightly more of a hassle in Word, but it'll still be done today."