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Improving understanding and recall of the probation service contract

Mason, Jonathan, Morris, Leigh (2000) Improving understanding and recall of the probation service contract. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 10 (3). pp. 199-210. ISSN 1052-9284. (doi:10.1002/1099-1298(200005/06)10:3<199::aid-casp565>3.0.co;2-9) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:16358)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1298(200005/06)10:3<1...

Abstract

The role of the probation service within the Criminal Justice System is to provide support to probationees so they can serve out their probation orders in accordance with certain regulations. These regulations are expressed in a formal contract. The current article reports an assessment of the readability of the current Kent Probation Service's users' contract. A Flesch (1948) analysis of the original document indicated that it required an IQ of 111+ for full comprehension. Using several criteria suggested by the Flesch formula and other literature, the document was revised to improve its readability. Analysis revealed the revised document to require an IQ of 84+ for full comprehension, indicating that the revised contract should be considerably easier to understand than the original. An exploratory study revealed that both understanding and recall were significantly greater for the revised contract than for the original. We conclude that in assessing readability of written materials, it is important that (in conjunction with a Flesch analysis) documents are actually tested on the intended readership

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1002/1099-1298(200005/06)10:3<199::aid-casp565>3.0.co;2-9
Uncontrolled keywords: IQ; probation service; reading analysis
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: O.O. Odanye
Date Deposited: 17 Mar 2009 15:33 UTC
Last Modified: 09 Mar 2023 11:31 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/16358 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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