Technical articles could be clearer on ebooks

The use of ebooks to deliver technical articles could help to make scientific studies more easily accessible to a wider readership.

According to the Institute of Education, there are a number of ways in which ebooks cater for young readers by making the process easier.

However, many of these could equally be applied to making technical articles more accessible.

For instance, Dr Jeni Riley, a reader of literacy in primary education at the University of London Institute of Education, suggests that a glossary can help to define any unknown words.

"Words can be explained if they are not sure of the meaning," she says - a function that could be applied to good effect in scientific reports and journal articles.

The possibility is just one way in which technology itself is making science more easily accessible to the general public.

"I certainly think that it's a very powerful tool for learning; technology is part of everything we do these days," Dr Riley asserts.