Impact of question-answering tasks on search processes and reading comprehension

This study examined the effect of (a) high- and low-level questions and (b) reading the text before the questions asked on performance. delayed text recall and deep text comprehension, as well as on specific text-inspection patterns. Participants were 37 Undergraduate Students who answered either high- or low-level questions using the software Read&Answer to read and answer questions on the computer screen. Additionally. half of the sample read first a text and then answered the questions (reading-first condition). whereas the other half answered the questions without having read the text in advance (no-reading-first condition). All participants had the text available to search for the answer. Results indicated that high-level questions facilitated deep comprehension but not immediate performance or delayed recall of text, independently of the reading condition. and that high- and low-level questions differentially affected text-inspection patterns. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.