I wonder which version of Word the study used. I couldn't find anything about that.
> The study was conducted when most of the participants in the Word groups used Word Version 12. Only 3 participants used older versions of Microsoft Word. Newer Versions of Word include a new Equation editor that makes the software even more powerful and easier to use.
The authors of the article are, obviously, completely unbiased.
I have, for example, never really felt the need, and learning LaTeX has always been binned for "It'll be slightly more of a hassle in Word, but it'll still be done today."
But the main problem of the study is not its reproducibility. The main problem is that it is designed in a completely wrong way and it cannot seriously claim to answer the questions it pretends that it answers.