I'd just like to endorse the suggestion that you regard this study as a pilot study. Last year I did an experiment on code reading (three programs presented in three different styles). It turned out that the dominant effects were
- a number of students complaining that a 30-page manual for the programming language used in the task was an outrageous amount to ask them to read (they had _weeks_ to read it) - a large number of students who claimed to be unable to read code on paper, needing machine assistance with syntax colouring and searching (the programs were all a little under two pages long) - a number of students who claimed to be unable to read code without running test cases. The skill I wanted to investigate ("desk checking") was, it turned out, a skill most of the students did not possess at all. You can expect your pilot study to surprise you. -- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).