Individual differences in multiple document comprehension

Practices of reading, interpreting, evaluating, and integrating multiple documents have formerly been largely the purview of specialist and expert communities (Goldman, 2015). The widespread use of the Internet, with its multifarious sources, has turned these practices into a basic prerequisite for participation in modern knowledge societies (Alexander and DRLRL, 2012; Britt, Richter, and Rouet, 2014), creating new challenges as people with diverse personal, academic, and socio-cultural backgrounds need to develop the complex skills necessary for comprehending multiple documents (MDs). Hence, the aim of this chapter is to review current research on individual differences in MD comprehension and to discuss the implications of these differences for educational research and practice.