Objectives: Our objectives are to present conceptualizations of the comprehension of single and multiple texts that address the role of epistemic beliefs in text comprehension, review supporting evidence for such conceptualizations, and note particular trends and future challenges for this area of research. Frameworks: Conceptualizations of the…

In present-day knowledge societies, competent reading involves the integration of information from multiple sources into a coherent, meaningful representation of a topic, issue, or situation. This article reviews research and theory concerning the comprehension of multiple textual resources, focusing especially on linkages recently established…

This study used think-aloud methodology to investigate 51 Norwegian undergraduates' topic-specific epistemic cognition while working with six documents presenting conflicting views on the issue of cell phones and potential health risks. Results showed that students' epistemic cognition was represented by one dimension concerning the certainty and…

In present-day knowledge societies, readers cannot understand complex issues without constructing meaning across multiple information sources. To what extent they are able to do so may depend on both characteristics of reading tasks and characteristics of readers themselves. In this study, 184 undergraduates read multiple texts about the complex…

In this study, law students (n = 49) read multiple authentic documents presenting conflicting information on the topic of climate change and responded to verification tasks assessing their superficial as well as their deeper-level within- and across-documents comprehension. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that even after variance…

The predictability of Internet-specific epistemic beliefs for self-regulated learning within Internet technologies was examined in a sample of 84 physics undergraduates. Dimensions of Internet-specific epistemic beliefs were found to explain unique variance in Internet-based search, help-seeking, and self-regulatory strategies, respectively.…

In this study, we aimed to investigate whether different dimensions of topic-specific epistemological beliefs predict students' understanding of seven texts representing partly conflicting views on climate change. A sample of 157 undergraduates responded to questionnaires on prior knowledge and topic-specific epistemological beliefs before they…

The primary aim was to explore and compare the dimensionality of personal epistemology with respect to climate change across the contexts of Norwegian and Spanish students. A second aim was to examine relationships between topic-specific epistemic beliefs and the variables of gender, topic knowledge, and topic interest in the two contexts.…

In a sample of 135 Norwegian education undergraduates, we examined the effects of topic-specific epistemic beliefs concerning the simplicity and source of knowledge on deep-level understanding of multiple expository texts about the same topic--climate change. The results showed that students holding sophisticated simplicity beliefs, viewing…

The relative contribution is examined of epistemological beliefs and implicit theories of intelligence to students' adoption of mastery, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals in two different academic contexts, business administration and teacher education, in the short as well as the long term. The results showed that…

We examined whether the text understanding of students holding naive and sophisticated epistemological beliefs was differentially affected by text format, also controlling for effects of gender, word decoding, and prior knowledge on understanding. The participants were 39 Norwegian first-year teacher students, and the topic of reading was…

We examined the relative contribution of epistemological beliefs and implicit theories of intelligence to the adoption of mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals, respectively, in a sample of 80 Norwegian student teachers in an innovative, cooperative instructional context with little emphasis on grades and performance…

In a sample of 157 Norwegian political science undergraduates, two dimensions of epistemological beliefs concerning Internet-based knowledge and knowing were identified through factor analysis. The first dimension, general Internet epistemology, ranged from the integrated view that the Internet is an essential source of true, specific facts to…

Background: More empirical work is needed to examine the dimensionality of personal epistemology and relations between those dimensions and motivational and strategic components of self-regulated learning. In particular, there is great need to investigate personal epistemology and its relation to self-regulated learning across cultures and…