Multiple Text Comprehension Research Articles

Webpage reading: Psychophysiological correlates of emotional arousal and regulation predict multiple-text comprehension

This study aimed to investigate psychophysiological responses while reading multiple webpages on a debated topic. We measured heart rate (HR) as an index of emotional arousal and heart rate variability (HRV) as an index of emotional regulation. Forty-seven lower secondary school students in grade 7 read four webpages varying for reliability and position on the topic of the potential health risks associated with the use of mobile phones, while their cardiac activity was registered. Post-reading performance of multiple-text comprehension at intertextual level was measured by an essay, which was coded for sourcing (reference to the source information and connection with its content) and argumentation on the topic. Results showed that the type of webpage did not differentiate HR and HRV while reading. However, HR and HRV predicted comprehension across texts as reflected in argumentation, after controlling for prior knowledge and reading comprehension. Specifically, HR was a negative predictor and HRV a positive predictor; the less the students were emotionally reactive to the content read and the more they were able to self-regulate while reading, the greater their multiple-text comprehension, such as the ability to argue about the debated topic. Theoretical and practical contributions of the study are discussed.

Introduction to the special issue: Desiderata for a theory of multi-source multi-modal comprehension

In this special issue, contributing authors consider work at the intersection of two relatively established lines of research: multi-source (e.g., multiple texts) comprehension and multi-modal (e.g., narrated video) comprehension. This is a challenging space in which to work, as there is great complexity in the theories and empirical base in each area. Commonalities and important differences across the two literature are highlighted, together with a set of criteria that any emerging theory of multi-source, multi-modal comprehension should account for: cognitive learning strategies and metacognitive monitoring, which may interact with media; affect and other individual differences; and task effects.

Epistemological and reading beliefs profiles and their role in multiple text comprehension

Introduction. The aim of this study was to analyse the role of epistemological beliefs and reading beliefs in the comprehension of multiple texts which presented conflicting positions about a controversial topic (nuclear energy). More specifically, we investigated the influence of the multidimensional configuration of epistemological and reading beliefs on multiple text comprehension.Method. The participants were 476 university students from two different Spanish universities, and diverse studies (Humanities, Health Sciences, Architecture and Engineering). In a whole-class session, the Epistemological Beliefs Questionnaire (EQEBI) and the Reader Belief Questionnaire were first administered. In the second part of the session participants completed the prior knowledge questionnaire and performed the multiple text comprehension task.Results. Using cluster analysis we identified two distinct beliefs profiles: sophisticated, in which the more sophisticated epistemological beliefs were associated to more transactional and less transmissive reading beliefs; and naïve, in which the more naïve epistemological beliefs were associated to less transactional and more transmissive reading beliefs. Relationships were found between profiles and gender and domain of knowledge. In addition, after controlling prior knowledge, students with a more sophisticated epistemological and reading beliefs’ profile obtained a higher level of multiple text comprehension than those with a more naïve profile.Conclusion. Consistent with prior research, we may interpret that students who understand knowledge in a more sophisticated way tend to view reading less as a transmissive process and more transforming of knowledge; therefore, they get involved in a deeper comprehension of the different sources and this favours their ability to process information and make inferences – at an intra and inter textual level.

Emotional reactivity and comprehension of multiple online texts

This study investigates the role of students' dispositional emotion reactivity in the comprehension of conflicting online information about the topic of health risks associated with the use of mobile phones. Arousal was measured by changes in electrodermal activity as a physiological response to an emotionally negative school-related video. Emotional valence was assessed by self-reports. One hundred and four 7th graders read six texts about the topic in websites varying for reliability and position. After reading, a sentence verification test assessed surface comprehension within texts, while a short essay assessed their comprehension across them at intertextual level, including sourcing and argumentation. Results revealed that two reliably distinct profiles of emotional response, high reactive and low reactive, emerged from a cluster analysis when considering both arousal and valence of emotionality. These profiles differentiated intertextual comprehension at sourcing level, while controlling for possible interfering variables. Low reactive students outperformed high reactive students for the ability to refer to source information and to connect it to the content provided. Findings indicate the importance of student differences in emotional reactivity in a common comprehension task in the digital era.

Analyzing and Integrating Models of Multiple Text Comprehension

We introduce a special issue featuring four theoretical models of multiple text comprehension. We present a central framework for conceptualizing the four models in this special issue. Specifically, we chart the models according to how they consider learner, texts, task, and context factors in explaining multiple text comprehension. In addition, the models are contrasted along three dimensions capturing different orientations toward multiple text comprehension. Models in the special issue are described as more behaviorally or cognitively focused, as conceptualizing multiple text comprehension as an internally driven or an externally triggered process, and as directly responsive to or indirectly influenced by task. The importance and relevance of this special issue for research on multiple text comprehension are discussed.

Comprehension of Multiple Documents With Conflicting Information: A Two-Step Model of Validation

In this article, we examine the cognitive processes that are involved when readers comprehend conflicting information in multiple texts. Starting from the notion of routine validation during comprehension, we argue that readers' prior beliefs may lead to a biased processing of conflicting information and a one-sided mental model of controversial issues (text-belief consistency effect). An important distinction is that such biases occur routinely as a by-product of basic comprehension processes. However, readers can actively engage in strategies that work against the biasing effects of prior beliefs when they possess the relevant cognitive resources and are motivated to activate them. A review of published studies that examined belief effects in multiple text comprehension supports the two-step model of validation. We discuss implications of this model for multiple text comprehension and educational practice and delineate directions for future research.

The Discrepancy-Induced Source Comprehension (D-ISC) Model: Basic Assumptions and Preliminary Evidence

Despite the importance of source attention and evaluation for learning from texts, little is known about the particular conditions that encourage sourcing during reading. In this article, basic assumptions of the discrepancy-induced source comprehension (D-ISC) model are presented, which describes the moment-by-moment cognitive processes that readers undergo when reading-to-understand controversial messages. We then review supporting evidence from single and multiple text comprehension research. In the discussion, we draw conclusions based on the theoretical and empirical research, highlight limitations of what is known to date, and suggest how further investigations of D-ISC might address these concerns.

The Mediated/Unmediated Contributions of Language Proficiency and Prior Knowledge to L2 Multiple-Texts Comprehension: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

The Mediated/Unmediated Contributions of Language Proficiency and Prior Knowledge to L2 Multiple-Texts Comprehension: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

The Mediated/Unmediated Contributions of Language Proficiency and Prior Knowledge to L2 Multiple-Texts Comprehension: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

The knowledge base informing reading instruction/research in Applied Linguistics comes mainly from single-text reading research. To begin to develop a knowledge base informing research into and instruction of multiple-documents literacy, as the immediate current need of L2 students in academic contexts, this study was conducted. The study aimed to explore the contributions of language proficiency and prior knowledge to comprehension across multiple-texts and single-text modes of reading. To this end, a structural model was developed that subsumed hypothesized links between language proficiency, prior knowledge, single-text and multiple-texts reading comprehension. Data were collected from 207 Iranian undergraduate students studying midwifery and paramedical emergencies who took measures of language proficiency, single-text comprehension, multiple-texts comprehension, and a prior knowledge measure. The data were analyzed through structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings revealed that language proficiency and prior knowledge contribute to multiple-texts comprehension both directly and indirectly via impacting single-text comprehension. Moreover, the contributions of these two variables were found to vary across single-text and multiple-texts modes of reading. Implications for theoretical modelling and instruction of reading are presented.

Making Sense of Science Texts: A Mixed‐Methods Examination of Predictors and Processes of Multiple‐Text Comprehension

AbstractPrevious research has identified various factors that contribute to readers’ comprehension of expository texts, including strategy expertise, language proficiency, prior knowledge, and more recently, readers’ beliefs about knowledge. This study addresses the need to understand the relative contributions of these predictors to readers’ comprehension of multiple texts and the processes used by readers to make sense of texts. Eighty‐three students (grades 5–7) participated in this mixed‐methods study. The sample consisted of monolingual students and emergent and proficient bilingual students who completed measures of expository comprehension, strategic knowledge and awareness, English‐language proficiency, prior content knowledge, and epistemic beliefs. Ten bilingual students from this sample also completed a think‐aloud protocol to allow for close examination of their meaning‐making processes. In a multiple regression analysis, English‐language proficiency was the strongest predictor of comprehension, followed by content knowledge. Strategy knowledge and awareness and epistemic beliefs were not related to multiple‐text comprehension in the model. The relationship between English‐language proficiency and comprehension was stronger for bilingual students than for monolingual students. Students in the think‐aloud sample demonstrated emergent knowledge of processes of disciplinary reading of multiple texts, including metacognitive monitoring, theorizing authorial identity, and intertextual integration, while also displaying a tendency to defer to institutionalized authority when evaluating credibility of the texts. The findings provide directions for future research on the way young adolescents comprehend and learn from expository texts in the discipline of science.

Epistemological and reading beliefs profiles and their role in multiple text comprehension

Epistemological and reading beliefs profiles and their role in multiple text comprehension

Learning from texts: activation of information from previous texts during reading.

Learning often involves integration of information from multiple texts. The aim of the current study was to determine whether relevant information from previously read texts is spontaneously activated during reading, allowing for integration between texts (experiment 1 and 2), and whether this process is related to the representation of the texts (experiment 2). In both experiments, texts with inconsistent target sentences were preceded by texts that either did or did not contain explanations that resolved the inconsistencies. In experiment 1, the reading times of the target sentences introducing inconsistencies were faster if the preceding text contained an explanation for the inconsistency than if it did not. This result demonstrates that relevant information from a prior text is spontaneously activated when the target sentence is read. In experiment 2 free recall was used to gain insight into the representation after reading. The reading time results for experiment 2 replicated the reading time results for experiment 1. However, the effects on reading times did not translate to measurable differences in text representations after reading. This research extends our knowledge about the processes involved in multiple text comprehension: Prior text information is spontaneously activated during reading, thereby enabling integration between different texts.

Content integration across multiple documents reduces memory for sources

The current experiments systematically examined semantic content integration as a mechanism for explaining source inattention and forgetting when reading-to-remember multiple texts. For all 3 experiments, degree of semantic overlap was manipulated amongst messages provided by various information sources. In Experiment 1, readers’ source recognition was significantly poorer when the sources presented semantically-congruent compared to semantically-distinct messages. Experiment 2 replicated the findings, despite half of the participants receiving a pre-reading warning. Experiment 3 extended the examination to include longer argument-based texts; readers additionally wrote a comprehensive essay on the topic. The results indicated longer reading times and better recall memory for the claims and evidence statements from semantically-congruent compared to semantically-distinct texts, while still reproducing the poorer source recognition effects of Experiments 1 and 2. We discuss implications for contemporary accounts of multiple text comprehension as well as directions for future research.

The use of source-related strategies in evaluating multiple psychology texts: a student–scientist comparison

Multiple text comprehension can greatly benefit from paying attention to sources and from using this information for evaluating text information. Previous research based on texts from the domain of history suggests that source-related strategies are acquired as part of the discipline expertise as opposed to the spontaneous use of these strategies by students just entering a field. In the present study, we compared the performance of students and scientists in the domain of psychology with regard to (a) their knowledge of publication types, (b) relevant source characteristics, (c) their use of sources for evaluating the credibility of multiple texts, and (d) their ability to judge the plausibility of argumentative statements in psychological texts. Participants worked on a battery of newly developed computerised tests with a think-aloud instruction to uncover strategies that scientists and students used when reading a text. Results showed that scientists scored higher in all of the assessed abilities and that these abilities were positively correlated with each other. Importantly, the superior performance of scientists in evaluating the credibility of multiple texts was mediated by their use of source information. Implications are discussed in terms of discipline expertise.

Effects of text-belief consistency and reading task on the strategic validation of multiple texts

In the comprehension of multiple controversial scientific texts, readers with strong prior beliefs tend to construct a one-sided mental representation that is biased towards belief-consistent information. In the present study, we examined whether an argument in contrast to a summary task instruction can increase the resource allocation to and strategic validation of belief-inconsistent information which should be positively related to comprehension. Undergraduate students read one belief-consistent and one belief-inconsistent text about a controversial scientific issue either with an argument or a summary task instruction. The use of strategic validation and memorization strategies was assessed with think-aloud protocols, and a verification task was used to investigate comprehension outcomes. As predicted, readers following a summary task read belief-consistent information longer and used more memorization strategies for such information. Readers following an argument task spent similar time reading both text types and used more validation strategies when reading the belief-inconsistent text. In addition, the use of strategic validation during reading the belief-inconsistent text improved comprehension for this text type but hindered the comprehension of the belief-consistent text.

L2 multiple-documents comprehension: Exploring the contributions of L1 reading ability and strategic processing

Abstract There is much prior L2 research estimating the contributions of strategic processing and L1 reading ability to L2 reading comprehension. This line of inquiry has, however, been mainly followed in relation to single-text reading. While multiple-documents comprehension constitutes the bulk of what EFL/ESL students do in their current academic environments, L2 research investigating the contributions of these two variables to this type of comprehension in essentially lacking. Against this background, the present paper reports on a study examining the relative contributions of strategic processing and L1 reading ability to L2 single-text vs. multiple-texts comprehension. To this end, 114 EFL students took measures of L1 reading ability, L2 single-text and multiple-texts reading comprehension, as well as self-reported strategic processing. Data were analyzed using regression analyses. The results indicated that while L1 reading ability and strategic processing contributed significantly to L2 single-text reading, only strategic processing was shown to contribute to L2 multiple-texts reading. Strategic processing was also shown to account for a much larger proportion of variance in L2 multiple-texts comprehension than L2 single-text comprehension.

EFL Learners' Multiple Documents Literacy: Effects of a Strategy‐Directed Intervention Program

There is a substantial body of L2 research documenting the central role of strategy instruction in reading comprehension. However, this line of research has been conducted mostly within the single text paradigm of reading research. With reading literacy undergoing a marked shift from single source reading to multiple documents literacy, little is known about the role of strategy instruction in readers' performance in this emerging type of literacy and the likelihood of readers' effective transfer of strategies from the single text‐dominated reading in instructional programs to the multiple texts‐dominated reading within academic knowledge societies. This study was conducted to begin to address this gap. 76 EFL learners were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: ST/−SI (single text/no strategy instruction), ST/+SI (single text/strategy instruction), MT/−SI (multiple texts/no strategy instruction) and MT/+SI (multiple texts/strategy instruction). Pretests of reading comprehension and self‐reported reading strategy use confirmed that the four groups performed at similar levels. They were then taught for 10–90‐minute sessions and were tested for multiple texts comprehension and strategy use. The results revealed the significant effects of strategy instruction on the participants' multiple documents comprehension and strategy use and the more positive effect of task‐relevant strategy instruction on multiple documents comprehension.

EFFECTS OF SOURCE INFORMATION ON LEARNING AND INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

This study investigated whether source information attached to texts influences multiple-text comprehension about genetically modified (GM) foods—a controversial science topic. Participants in the experiment read two texts from two sources: an expert and/or a layperson. When the two texts presented different attitudes toward GM foods (Experiment 1), expert information facilitated intra-text comprehension. Moreover, expert information was better integrated with other information; when expert information was presented first, later information was less integrated with participants’ understanding, and when expert information was presented last, it was more integrated. When the two texts presented common attitudes (Experiment 2), a similar pattern of effects was observed, but the effects were weaker than those in Experiment 1. Thus, expert source information has the potential to affect the comprehension of scientific information, and careful planning is required for effective risk communication.

Epistemic Beliefs and Their Relation to Multiple-Text Comprehension: A Norwegian Program of Research

Nowadays, students are required to use multiple information sources to complete tasks, both in and out of school. The beliefs that students hold about knowledge and knowing – their epistemic beliefs – have been linked to successful integration of information across multiple texts. Framed by literature on epistemic belief research from an educational psychology perspective, this article reviews a recent Norwegian program of research on students' epistemic beliefs. The research has implications for educational research and practice that are discussed.

A Review of Research on Multiple Text Comprehension —Backgrounds, Current Trends, and Future Directions

A Review of Research on Multiple Text Comprehension —Backgrounds, Current Trends, and Future Directions