Readers' perceived task demands and their relation to multiple document comprehension strategies and outcome

Recent research suggests that readers' subjective task understanding influences reading processes and outcomes. Therefore, the present study's aim was to investigate whether the task demands that readers retrospectively report relate to multiple document comprehension strategies and outcome. A total of 310 university students completed three units from a standardized multiple-document comprehension test and answered an open-ended task demands question after each unit. Amongst others, participants comprehended single- and multiple-document activities to be task demands. Comprehending deep-level single-document activities and management activities to be task demands related to corroboration and proactive sourcing, respectively. However, comprehending multiple-document activities to be task demands was related neither to students' multiple-document comprehension nor to their realized multiple-document activities. The data suggest a context schema formation across test units: In later units the participants comprehended more often multiple-document activities and less often surface-level single-document and management activities to be task demands, and conducted more sourcing. •Perceived task demands are to affect multiple-document comprehension and strategies.•Task demands perceived: multiple-document activities, single-document activities•In subsequent tasks, multiple-document activities were perceived more frequently.•Perceived multiple-document activities are unrelated to strategies and comprehension.•Perceived single-document deep-level activities relate to corroboration.