A THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION OF HYPERTEXT is provided and three applications of hypertext: Electronic Studying, Literary Exploration, and Qualitative Research are discussed. Hypertext is defined as a form of writing with three characteristics: discernable free standing content nodes, links between nodes, and the expectation of active choice by readers. Some applications discussed are communication tasks, interrelating data of differing types, formats, and medium of representation; tasks where either the form of the data and/or the particular uses of the data are not known in advance, or for which there are multiple, simultaneous uses; tasks reproducing physical and/or metaphorical structures, and tasks juxtaposing information in new contexts. In electronic studying, students using hypertext are able to link information recorded on electronic note cards into study webs appropriate for report writing and for interrelating concepts among several disciplines. Literary explorations using hypertext are possible where readers construct their own stories and interpretation of literary elements provided by others. Hypertext can be applied to qualitative research during the process of analyzing field notes and interview protocols. The use of hypertext in these three areas will create a pool of experienced hypertext authors and readers who will be capable of measuring the effectiveness of hypertext.