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…

Using cluster-analysis in a sample of 65 Norwegian 10th graders, we identified subgroups characterized by relatively high levels of knowledge combined with relatively low beliefs in personal justification of knowledge claims, as well as subgroups characterized by the opposite pattern of knowledge and personal justification. Moreover, the high…

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…

Using a sample of 282 Norwegian upper secondary students, we examined whether two dimensions of topic-specific epistemic beliefs, concerning the certainty of knowledge and the justification for knowing, predicted students' understanding of seven texts representing partly conflicting views on climate change. Text comprehension was measured at three…

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…

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…

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…

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…