Effects of reading real versus print-out versions of multiple documents on students? sourcing and integrated understanding

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which students’ sourcing and comprehension can be supported by the reading of real, as opposed to print-out versions of multiple documents. It was found that the reading of real rather than print-out versions of multiple documents on the issue of climate change increased students’ memory for source information and made them include more specific references to document sources in argument essays that they wrote about the issue. In turn, such increased sourcing in essays mediated the positive effect of reading real versus print-out versions of documents on students’ construction of coherent representations of the documents’ content information. Theoretical and instructional implications of the findings are discussed, and directions for future research are provided.