2.5.8. Memory awareness (R/K test)
At the end of each reading session, participants were also asked
to complete a tailor-made version of the Remember/Know test (R/
K – Tulving, 1985), a largely employed tool for gauging the nature
and quality of recall and – by implication – learning. The R/K test is
based on two main types of retrieval response, namely ‘‘Remember’’
and ‘‘Know’’. While the recollection of episodic details (R)
belongs to episodic memory, the familiarity in the absence of recollection
(K) refers to semantic memory. Garland and Noyes (2004)
suggested that the cognitive processing taking place when learning
from EVDs and paper is different, mainly because the characteristics
of the computer screen might interfere with cognitive processing
for long-term memory, causing a larger employ of episodic
memory. To this end thirty words – of which only fifteen effectively
appeared in the text – were selected. The proportion of recognized
items (R/K) was calculated as the ratio between the
recognized items (either R or K) and the number of words that
really appeared in the text (i.e. 15). These words were chosen
according to three main criteria, i.e. one-single presentation in
the text, no proper names, and homogeneous distribution within
the text.