期刊名称：Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building
印刷版ISSN：1835-6354
电子版ISSN：1837-9133
出版年度：2013
卷号：13
期号：1
页码：1-12
语种：English
出版社：University of Technology, Sydney
摘要：Clearly written communication aids the understanding of construction contracts, resulting in less disputation. Past research, using opinion surveys rather than objective criteria, shows that construction contracts lack clarity and standard forms have become complex over time. The study outlined in this paper uses three objective measures of clarity developed by linguists to establish the readability of construction contracts. In addition, thirty industry professionals participated in a Cloze Test which measured the level of comprehension of clauses concerning disputes. The study verifies that contract conditions are very difficult to read, with college level reading skills needed to comprehend half of the clauses. However, the hypothesis that standard forms have become complex over time was not supported by the study. The study establishes a linear relationship between readability and comprehension, proving the hypothesis that improved readability increases the comprehension of a contract clause.
