When and how learners engage with source information in digital multiple-text reading: Effects of task instruction and text trustworthiness from eye-tracking technology

Digital reading with multiple-text comprehension is essential in daily life, especially with the rise of AI-generated contents, making source evaluation crucial for authenticity of online information, particularly in academic contexts. Despite its importance, there is limited moment-to-moment evidence on reading processes in multiple-text use. To bridge this gap, we used eye-tracking technology to see how task instructions affect reading multiple texts with high and low trustworthiness. The transitions among texts and source information, as well as how much attention the readers paid are particularly of concern. Sixty-one college students were randomly divided into summary and argument groups, tasked with writing a summary or an argument, respectively. Both groups read four texts presenting conflicting views on genetically modified technology. Each text featured high or low trustworthiness and included three paragraphs: source, evidence, and conclusion. Results of eye-movement data showed both groups spent more time rereading high-trustworthiness texts and evidence paragraphs. The summary group notably reread more on source information, made more transitions between source and evidence, and accessed texts more times than the argument group. In essay writing, the summary group showed better integration by using more source citations and connectives and referring to more concepts, compared to the argument group. Mediation analysis revealed that the process data of rereading time and number of click times successfully mediated the relationship between task instructions and multiple-text integration, confirming that the summary group engaged deeply. These findings offer both theoretical contributions and practical implications for developing adaptive, personalized digital reading environments.