Does the position of source information for multiple documents matter? Insights from two experiments

Abstract

When processing information from multiple documents about a controversial topic, it is important to consider information about the respective documents’ sources. In two experiments, we investigated whether different ways of providing source information affects learners’ use of source information when trying to make sense of a controversy. Experiment 1 (123 participants) varied the position of source information before or after the contents as well as the integration of source information with the contents. When source information was integrated with contents, more participants tended to name the accurate answer when source information was presented before contents. However, for blocked (i.e. non-integrated) presentation, more participants gave an accurate answer when source information was presented after the contents. Experiment 2 (117 participants) tested whether this latter finding could be explained with a lack of conflict awareness when participants were confronted with all source information in a block before the contents. However, making learners aware of the conflicting nature of the documents before the learning phase did not change the pattern of results for the blocked presentation of source information. In contrast, highlighting the conflict just before learners answered the open-ended question resulted in more participants giving an accurate answer when source information was presented before rather than after the contents. These results are discussed taking into account the characteristics of the learning phase and the test phase, outlining various pathways for future research.