Deck 6: Researching Your Subject

Question 1

A writer who is researching a state agency's transition from paper-based reports to paperless electronic reports has scheduled an interview with a senior writer at the agency. Which of the following interview questions is likely to be most effective?

A) How do you think electronic reports will change your job?
B) What is the future of paper?
C) Do you think paperless reports are worth the effort to learn the new software?
D) Why do you write reports?

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which source reflects the highest degree of authority on the subject of shale-oil deposits in North America?

A) an article in an encyclopedia
B) an article in a national newspaper
C) an article in a journal for geological research
D) an article in a journal on public policy

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which source is least likely to be valuable when you have a question about new trends in the semiconductor industry?

A) an encyclopedia
B) a journal article published this year
C) the blog of an analyst who covers the semiconductor industry
D) the website for a semiconductor magazine

Answer 3

A

Question 4

With which research method does the researcher have the least amount of control?

A) field research
B) interviews
C) experiments
D) inquiries

Question 5

in which phase of the writing process is it best to conduct research?

A) editing
B) revising
C) proofreading
D) planning

Question 6

Which of these resources is NOT likely to appear in a library's online database?

A) proceedings from an annual academic conference
B) posts from a blog
C) articles from a magazine
D) articles from a national newspaper

Question 7

Your manager has asked you to recommend which of two new types of digital camera to buy for your company's publications department. Which of the following is likely to be the best source of information for your report?

A) website
B) book
C) scholarly article
D) abstract service

Question 8

conducting an experiment involves four stages. One is reporting the data. What are the other three?

A) duplicating the experiment
B) testing the hypothesis
C) establishing a hypothesis
D) selecting suitable test subjects
E) analyzing the data

Question 9

Which word best describes the kind of information found in reference works?

A) exploratory
B) experimental
C) cutting-edge
D) foundational

Question 10

Which of the following types of research is least like field research?

A) observations
B) inquiries
C) demonstrations
D) inspections

Question 11

You are writing a report about technical methods used for desalination of seawater. Which of these resources is least likely to provide the technical information you need?

A) a website for professional water-treatment engineers
B) a book about industrial desalination
C) a discussion board about ecology
D) a blog by a leading expert in desalination

Question 12

Which statement best compares the information found on a wiki with the information from an edited website?

A) The lack of editors on a wiki means that authors on the site can be trusted to speak the truth.
B) The lack of editors on a wiki means that authors on the site may mix truth with fiction.
C) The lack of editors on a wiki means that a wiki can be updated quickly. Faster is better.
D) Edited websites lack the accountability created when content gets "crowdsourced" on a wiki.

Question 13

Chapter 6 suggests that you do two things after conducting an interview. What are they?

A) Transcribe the audio recording of the interview.
B) Write down the important information from the interview.
C) Ask for a follow-up interview.
D) Send a brief thank-you note to the respondent.

Question 14

Chapter 6 advises researchers to look for information that is current. What are two other characteristics of reliable information that the chapter says you should look for?

A) lack of bias
B) well-known author
C) attractive design
D) comprehensiveness

Question 15

Print is a common medium for publishing information. Chapter 6 identifies four other publishing media. What are two other media listed in the chapter?

A) microfilm
B) microfiche
C) websites
D) social media

Question 16

What is the term for demographic information about individuals who use and follow social media?

A) big data
B) analysis
C) analytics
D) mined data

Question 17

You are writing a report analyzing whether your company should hire a new vendor to provide data-warehousing services. You have found a white paper online that looks promising. How can you judge the degree to which the authors are unbiased?

A) Check to see if the authors have offices in the same cities as your potential data-service vendors.
B) Check to see if the authors work as industry-wide consultants or as contractors for specific vendors.
C) Check to see if the authors have advanced degrees.
D) Check to see if the authors appear to be related to each other.

Question 18

A writer is developing a questionnaire asking users about their experiences with a company's website. Which of the following questions is NOT flawed?

A) I was able to easily find answers to my questions.
Disagree _____
Neutral _____
Agree _____
B) Should we make this site better?
Yes ___ No ___
C) List the top three reasons you visit this site:
_________________
_________________
_________________
D) The flawed graphics made it hard for me to order parts using this site.
Yes __ No __

Question 19

which of these is considered a traditional tool for secondary research?

A) online catalog
B) tagged content
C) questionnaire
D) microblog

Question 20

You are interviewing the mayor of your city for a report on the prospects for high-tech manufacturing there. Which of the following questions will be most effective in an interview?

A) Are tax incentives helping to retain expanding companies?
B) How well are tax incentives helping to retain expanding companies?
C) How long have you been the mayor?
D) Do companies complain about the tax system here?

Question 21

What is the function of the hashtag symbol (#) that is used on a number of social-media platforms?

Question 22

Chapter 6 lists five characteristics to consider when evaluating print and online sources. Name two of them.

Question 23

one disadvantage of a questionnaire is that you cannot be sure the respondents are representative of the population you want to study.

Question 24

What kind of information is found in a periodical index?

Question 25

Government publications are not usually listed in indexes or by abstract services.

Question 26

The tags that people use to categorize information they find on websites must be one-word descriptors without spaces or punctuation (such as "dallaszoo").

Question 27

A periodical index contains lists of journal and magazine articles classified according to title, subject, and author.

Question 28

What is the difference between secondary research and primary research?

Question 29

Secondary research is the process of creating technical information yourself, as opposed to collecting information that other people have discovered or created.

Question 30

You should select research methods before determining what research questions to pursue.

Question 31

Chapter 6 suggests that you do three things when concluding an interview. What is one of them?

Question 32

What is the function of an RSS feed?

Question 33

Print is a typical medium for publishing information. However, Chapter 6 identifies three other media. List them.

Question 34

It is relatively easy to design field research to measure what you are interested in, but it is difficult to conduct field research.

Question 35

"How will China's rapid industrial development affect the global energy market over the next decade?" is more likely to be a workplace research question than an academic research question.

Question 36

Chapter 6 advises researchers to look for information that is current. List two other characteristics of reliable information, according to the chapter.

Question 37

One stage of conducting an experiment is to establish a hypothesis. What is the next stage?

Question 38

Primary research is the set of sources that you consult while you are in the document-planning stage.

Question 39

When obtaining information on products and services from websites, discussion boards, and blogs, it is important not to assume that vendors' claims are accurate.