Situated Epistemic Beliefs Predicting Multiple Source Use Behaviours

Students frequently encounter complex tasks that demand the evaluation of multiple—at times conflicting—sources to reach an informed position. Such multiple source use (MSU) tasks may entail finding and evaluating sources, contrasting and synthesising perspectives. This requires epistemic competence, or the ability to flexibly recognise epistemic demands of specific contexts. Literature posits that MSU tasks unfold in three interrelated stages—preparation, execution, and production—and that contextual and individual factors in earlier stages affect subsequent stages. Yet, the role of epistemic beliefs in decision making and processing throughout these stages is not well documented. Such beliefs can be captured in the preparation stage while students are presented with task parameters and form a stance toward task completion. A novel situated epistemic beliefs instrument (SEBI) captured students’ identification of epistemic demands of complex issues in terms of controversiality, relevance to self and others, likelihood of being resolved, prior knowledge, and domains relevant to addressing the issue. Next, students selected a corresponding controversial claim for the MSU project, searched for sources and logged search decisions, took notes, and produced essays. Surprisingly, quantitative and qualitative data suggested that epistemic beliefs did not predict MSU execution and production. Instead, students seemed to pursue topics for which prior knowledge, self-relevance, and controversiality were high. This suggests that students were primarily geared toward task completion rather than engaging in MSU to critically evaluate information and arguments. The role of epistemic beliefs for MSU may be curbed by task parameters and students' orientation toward task completion. unknown unknown