Deck 11: Finding, Evaluating, and Processing Information

Question 1

According to the fair use doctrine

A) plagiarism is not an issue in the business world-it is a problem only in schools and academic circles.
B) once material is made public, it no longer belongs to the author.
C) you can use other people's work only if you don't prevent them from benefiting as a result.
D) crediting sources is all that is necessary to avoid legal problems.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

At the beginning of a research project, you need to

A) develop the conclusion you want to reach and start looking for evidence that supports that conclusion.
B) just jump in by finding resources on the Internet and taking notes from them.
C) develop a formal outline that you plan to stick to throughout your researching and writing.
D) familiarize yourself with the subject.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

You would not need to cite a source if you have

A) provided general knowledge about your topic.
B) described, in your own words, a plan for organizing production lines, which appeared in a professional journal.
C) used a table from the 1985 Farmer's Almanac.
D) used a direct quotation of under 250 words from a book titled Modern Economics.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

A metacrawler is

A) a special type of engine that searches several search engines at once.
B) a type of aggregator that offers subscribers all-day information on their desktops.
C) a highly specialized directory that focuses on a specific subject matter area.
D) a search engine that examines only newsgroup messages.

Question 5

When conducting a database search, you use wildcards to

A) provide variations on your key terms.
B) find similar spellings of your search terms.
C) help you find plurals and alternative spellings of your key words.
D) do all of the above.

Question 6

Bing is an example of a

A) search engine.
B) web directory.
C) metacrawler.
D) none of the above.

Question 7

Innovations in research technology allow you to

A) access all online databases free of charge.
B) completely avoid unreliable information on the web.
C) rely exclusively on standard search engines, regardless of your needs.
D) find webpages and also the documents webpages that are linked to those sites.

Question 8

You create a survey and administer it five times under identical conditions. Because it yielded completely different results each time, you should conclude that this survey is

A) not reliable.
B) not valid.
C) valid
D) reliable

Question 9

Which of the following is not a characteristic of online databases?

A) Using them requires knowledge of basic search techniques.
B) They offer access to many materials that are not accessible through standard search engines.
C) They often categorize information by subject area.
D) Most of them are available free of charge.

Question 10

Which of the following is not true of conventional search engines?

A) They return to previously identified websites to look for changes.
B) They travel the web automatically, identifying new websites.
C) They access the deep Internet or hidden Internet.
D) Not all search engines operate in the same way.

Question 11

In evaluating material you have gathered for a report, you should

A) assume that any information taken from a webpage will be credible and reliable.
B) check to make sure the material is current.
C) ignore government documents.
D) throw out any information whose source is an organization that might be biased.

Question 12

A problem statement

A) is an unsupportable claim or assertion.
B) defines the purpose of your research.
C) should be long and complex.
D) outlines all the potential drawbacks of your research.

Question 13

Which of these documents would not qualify as primary research?

A) A recent survey of your company's top clients
B) The most recent issue of a trade magazine in your industry
C) Your company's latest balance sheet
D) Notes from a conversation you recently had with a local government official

Question 14

Unlike Internet search engines, online databases

A) can be accessed only from a library.
B) are rarely up to date.
C) often provide access to various parts of the hidden Internet.
D) do not require a subscription.

Question 15

Sources of secondary information include

A) in-person interviews.
B) experiments.
C) newspapers and periodicals.
D) first-hand observation.

Question 16

If you are researching a topic on which new material appears frequently, you should

A) use only metacrawlers for your search to ensure the accuracy of your sources.
B) explain to the audience that you simply couldn't keep up with all of the new information.
C) take advantage of search engines, but stay away from most databases .
D) consider using online monitoring tools so that you will automatically get new information as it comes out.

Question 17

A web directory differs from a search engine in that

A) it doesn't include Usenet newsgroups.
B) it usually locates more sites than a search engine.
C) human editors find and index the websites to include.
D) it doesn't provide as precise results as a search engine.

Question 18

To conduct an effective database search

A) avoid Boolean operators because they provide only mathematical results.
B) choose one search engine and stick with it.
C) think before you search about questions such as where useful information might be found.
D) use long search phrases in quotes rather than short phrases or single terms.

Question 19

The two most common primary research methods in the social sciences are

A) surveys and interviews.
B) experiments and observations.
C) test panels.
D) not appropriate for test marketing.

Question 20

Primary research refers to

A) new research done specifically for your current project.
B) the research you conduct first.
C) research that is fairly easy to conduct.
D) the evidence that stands out in your report.

Question 21

Questions such as, "Do you shop at the mall often?" are

A) too ambiguous to yield useful information.
B) likely to offend your respondents.
C) perfect for most surveys.
D) too personal and will offend most audiences.

Question 22

To find out your company's average monthly utility bill over the last year, you would need to calculate the ________ of the last twelve bills.

A) median
B) mode
C) highest
D) mean

Question 23

A survey is not valid if it

A) does not include at least 50 responses.
B) fails to measure what it is intended to measure.
C) lacks secondary evidence to supplement it.
D) is more than one year old.

Question 24

To help guide your research, you should develop a problem statement that defines the problem or purpose of your research.

Question 25

In conducting research on General Electric, you should not use any information from General Electric's official website, www.ge.com, because it is bound to be biased.

Question 26

The difference between primary sources and secondary sources is that primary sources are those you create specifically for your project.

Question 27

A disadvantage of using too many closed questions in an interview is that they

A) prevent any important information from being revealed.
B) diminish the interviewer's control over the interview.
C) do not take full advantage of the interview format.
D) do all of the above.

Question 28

Recommendations differ from conclusions in that recommendations

A) suggest a clear course of action.
B) interpret evidence.
C) always come at the end of the report.
D) are always acceptable to readers.

Question 29

Unlike a summary, a paraphrase

A) does not require complete documentation of sources.
B) restates the original material in your own words and with your own sentence structures.
C) is never acceptable in business documents.
D) presents the gist of the original material in fewer words by eliminating some of the original words.

Question 30

Which of the following is a closed-ended question?

A) How will the expansion affect day-to-day operations?
B) What corporate goals does the expansion help achieve?
C) Would you rate the proposed expansion plan as likely to succeed or unlikely to succeed?
D) What do you see as the primary benefit of the proposed expansion plan for your family?

Question 31

"How do you spend your leisure time on the weekends?" is an example of

A) a closed-ended question.
B) a restatement question.
C) an inappropriate question.
D) an open-ended question.

Question 32

It is particularly important to verify information when it goes beyond simple facts to include projections and interpretations.

Question 33

When drawing conclusions for a report, you

A) shouldn't compromise with others working as a part of your team.
B) should make sure to take into account any information you know about that hasn't been included in the report.
C) should suggest actions for the company to take based on the facts you have collected.
D) interpret what the facts you have gathered mean.

Question 34

The number 29 is the ________ in this set of figures: 25, 29, 34, 29, 29, 42, 8.

A) mode
B) mean
C) median
D) correlation

Question 35

Because of their complexity, industry publications and blogs are not a good place to begin familiarizing yourself with an unfamiliar subject area.

Question 36

What would be the median for the following set of monthly salaries: $1200, $1200, $1300, $1500, $1700, $2000, $2800?

A) $1671.43
B) $1500
C) $1700
D) $1200

Question 37

To paraphrase effectively

A) check your version against the original to make sure that you didn't alter the meaning.
B) avoid using any business language or jargon.
C) make sure your version is the same length as or longer than the original.
D) do all of the above.

Question 38

When conducting an information interview, it is a good idea to

A) stick to using just one type of question.
B) avoid making an appointment, since you don't want the subject to think ahead about answers.
C) save the most important questions for last.
D) learn about the person you are interviewing ahead of time.

Question 39

The recommendations you make in a report should be

A) the same as the conclusions.
B) what the audience wants to hear.
C) practical and offer clear guidance on next steps.
D) easy to implement.

Question 40

People are more likely to respond to a questionnaire if

A) you allow them plenty of time to research their answers.
B) the questions are open ended.
C) they can complete it within a short time.
D) all of the above are the case.

Question 41

According to the fair use doctrine, you can use other people's work only as long as you do not unfairly prevent them from benefiting as a result.

Question 42

A survey is valid if it produces identical results when repeated.

Question 43

A work is not considered copyrighted until it is legally registered.

Question 44

The best general purpose search engines are capable of reaching information on the hidden Internet.

Question 45

When it comes to using Internet search engines, a keyword search is basically the same thing as a natural language search.

Question 46

A survey is considered reliable if it measures what it is intended to measure.

Question 47

"Do you watch sports and news shows on TV?" is a compound question.

Question 48

Unlike most search engines, a web directory yields results that have been screened by human editors.

Question 49

Boolean operators include terms such as AND, OR, and NOT.

Question 50

Search engines and directories use different approaches to find and index websites.

Question 51

Although they are helpful for staying up to date on personal interests, online monitoring tools are not helpful for business-related research.

Question 52

With so much information available online, professionals have little need for libraries when it comes to finding secondary information.

Question 53

Surveys conducted over the Internet are more expensive and time-consuming than surveys conducted by traditional methods.

Question 54

When using search engines, Boolean operators enable you to define search queries with greater precision.

Question 55

When using the Internet to conduct research, you can be reasonably sure that any information you find will be accurate.

Question 56

When you need to consult government documents, your only option is to go to the appropriate government office in your city.

Question 57

Some of the most useful and up-to-date resources available at libraries are online databases.

Question 58

If you wanted to find statistical information about countries in South America, the best type of library resource to consult would be a directory.

Question 59

Observations, surveys, and experiments are all considered secondary sources of information.

Question 60

A metacrawler enables you to use multiple search engines simultaneously.

Question 61

Books, periodicals, newspapers, and websites are all examples of ________ sources.

Question 62

Online ________ provide access to journals, electronic books, and other resources often unavailable through general purpose search engines.

Question 63

The median value of a group is the sum of all the values in a series divided by the number of values in that group.

Question 64

A survey is considered ________ if it produces identical results when repeated. A survey is considered ________ if it measures what it's intended to measure.

Question 65

If the price of a baseball cap in six different stores was $22, $20, $18, $20, $19, and $21, the mean price would be $21.

Question 66

An example of a recommendation would be "Given the state of the economy, now is a good time to invest in precious metals."

Question 67

A Boolean ________ operator placed between restaurant and Louie's will find all sites that include both the word restaurant and Louie's.

Question 68

Conclusions are interpretations of the evidence in your report.

Question 69

________ law covers printed materials, audiovisual material, many forms of artistic expression, computer programs, maps, mailing lists, and even answering-machine messages.

Question 70

You should assume that everyone who examines the evidence you present in your report will arrive at the same conclusion.

Question 71

"Do you think the styling of the new Mini Cooper is a departure from previous styling?" is an example of an open-ended question.

Question 72

If you find a strong correlation between employee use of company stress-reduction programs and increased worker productivity, you can conclude that such programs do indeed cause increased productivity, without considering any other variables.

Question 73

You can narrow or broaden an Internet search by using ________ operators such as AND, OR, and NOT.

Question 74

A(n) ________ ________ search lets you ask questions in normal, everyday English.

Question 75

It is always preferable for interviews to take place in person rather than to conduct them via email.

Question 76

If you plan to quote your interview subject in writing, it is a bad idea to provide him or her with a list of questions a day or two ahead of time.

Question 77

When conducting an interview, you use ________ questions to get the interviewee to offer an opinion and not just a yes-or-no answer.

Question 78

A(n) ________ ________ defines the purpose of your research.

Question 79

Paraphrases do not require documentation of sources.

Question 80

Online ________ ________ identify individual webpages that contain a specific word or phrase you've asked for.