Glossary · 2 · Finding information
Scanning (reading behavior)
Also known as: Scanning, Selective reading
German: überfliegendes Lesen
In reading research and usability, scanning is the reading behavior in which people move their eyes quickly over a text or screen to locate specific information or to decide whether it is worth reading, fixating on headings, the beginnings of lines, links, numbers and highlighted words rather than reading every word in order.
- Applied cognitive psychology
- Finding information
In one sentence
Scanning is fast, selective reading in which people look for headings, keywords and numbers to find information or decide whether to read on.
Example
A technician looking for the torque value of a bolt scans a maintenance topic for the step number and the figure “Nm”; a table with the value next to the bolt designation is found in seconds, a sentence buried in a paragraph is missed.
Rests on
- Visual search and Selective attention: readers direct their gaze to features that promise relevance.
- Salience (cognitive psychology): headings, bold text, numbers and white space attract fixations.
- Satisficing: readers stop when they have found something good enough for the task.
How it applies
- Write for scanning first: Informative headings, the key word at the start of headings and list items, short paragraphs, numbered steps, tables for values and the result of a step stated where it can be seen.
- Technical documentation: Readers of instructions usually read to do, not to learn; they scan for their task, then read the steps. The format of the step, not its paragraph, carries the information.
- Software documentation: Code samples, parameter tables and error messages are scan targets; put the identifiers readers search for where the eye lands.
- Safety-related information: Because readers scan, safety messages need a consistent, salient structure (signal word, hazard, consequence, avoidance) and must sit at the step they concern, as described for the warning message.
Scanning vs. skimming
In reading instruction, scanning means searching a text for a specific item (a value, a name), while skimming means reading quickly for the gist. Usability writing often uses "scanning" for both. The distinction matters for design: scanning is served by findable targets, skimming by summaries and informative headings.
Limits
- The F-shaped pattern is one of several patterns found in eye-tracking studies (Nielsen Norman Group also describes layer-cake, spotted and other patterns); it appears mainly with poorly formatted text and depends on layout, task and motivation. It is not a universal law of reading.
- Designing for scanning never means removing information readers need when they do read in full, and never reduces safety-related information to keywords.