STUDYING AND USING MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS IN HISTORY - EFFECTS OF DISCIPLINE EXPERTISE

Extensive training in history results in generalized knowledge of the methods and information sources typical of history problems, that is, discipline expertise. We investigated the influence of discipline expe rtise on students' reading, evaluation, and use of multiple documents about a historical controversy. Eleven graduate students in psychology (history novices) and 8 graduate students in history (history special ists) studied 2 controversies about the history of the Panama Canal. F or each controversy, the students studied a set of documents, wrote an opinion essay, and evaluated the documents for usefulness and trustwo rthiness. Study strategies did not differ significantly across groups. However, the evaluation of usefulness varied as a function of documen t type and students' expertise. Furthermore, novice and expert student s differed in the way they expressed and supported an opinion in their essay. We suggest that discipline expertise helps history students co nnect information sources and interpretations to their representation of the situation or problem.