In present-day knowledge societies, competent reading involves the integration of information from multiple sources into a coherent, meaningful representation of a topic, issue, or situation. This article reviews research and theory concerning the comprehension of multiple textual resources, focusing especially on linkages recently established between dimensions of epistemic beliefs and multiple-text comprehension. Moreover, a proposed model incorporates epistemic beliefs into a theoretical framework for explaining multiple-text comprehension, specifying how and why different epistemic belief dimensions may be linked to the comprehension and integration of multiple texts. Also discussed is the need for further research concerning mediational mechanisms, causality, and generalizability. Are sun rays healthy or harmful? Can mobile phones actually cause brain cancer? Is global warming due to mankind's activities or to natural causes? In present-day knowledge societies, individuals seeking to answer such questions, on behalf of themselves or others, indeed have a wealth of information resources to draw on. Those resources may be available through traditional print and broadcasting technologies or through new information and communication technologies, such as the Internet. In any case, attempts to provide wellfounded answers require that individuals synthesize or integrate information from source materials expressing diverse Correspondence should be addressed to Ivar Bråten,