Event: Scientific Studies of Reading 26th Annual Meeting
Dates: July 17-20, 2019 Location: Toronto, Canada Presentation Title: The Relation Between Reading Prosody and Reading Comprehension First Author: Alissa Wolters Additional Author: Young-Suk Grace Kim Abstract In this study, we examined the relation between reading prosody and reading comprehension (Kuhn, Schwanenflugel, & Meisinger, 2010). Thus far, studies regarding this relation have had inconsistent findings with varying effect sizes (e.g., r = .06, Fernandes, Querido, Verhaeghe, & Araújo, 2018; r = 0.88, Kariuki & Baxter, 2011). We conducted a meta-analysis to estimate an overall effect size of the relation and to understand whether the strength of the relation varies by grade (Veenendaal, Groen, & Verhoeven, 2014), language (Hussien, 2014; Rasinski, Rikli, & Johnston, 2009), and prosody measurement method (scale and spectrograph, e.g., Benjamin, 2012). A literature review was conducted through ProQuest (six databases), citation chaining, and hand searching journals. A total of 34 studies (N = 10,444; 8 languages) met inclusion criteria (e.g., no treatment, two or more sentences read, scale or spectrograph used) and had the needed data available (in publication or via email correspondence). Included studies were coded and organized. Studies were assessed for quality (author-made rubric). Data were analyzed in R (metafor). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to test for publication bias and study quality effect. A moderate overall relation was found between reading prosody and reading comprehension (r = .55). No moderators were statistically significant. There was no evidence of publication bias. Across 34 studies in 8 languages, we found a moderate relation between reading prosody and reading comprehension. Interestingly, the relation did not vary by grade, language, or measurement method. Theoretical implications will be discussed. Comments are closed.
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