questions bank

Quiz Question Bank tools:

Question Areas:

when to use the library

Which is NOT a good example of a research question for a 5 page paper?

    • Why?

    • Would employers rather hire tall people?

    • Can dogs be trained to sense diseases?

    • Does television make children smarter?

Which is NOT a good example of a research question for a 5 page paper?

  • Do bananas grow in the US?

    • How has technology affected parenting in the US?

  • Why should companies offer domestic partner benefits to their employees?

    • Should the US government step in to stop polygamy practices in the United States?

Which is NOT a good example of a research question for a 10+ page paper?

    • How has New Orleans become a popular Mardi Gras destination in America?

    • Do avid readers retain story facts better than average tv viewers?

  • Why video games are cool.

  • What are the risks of seniors seeking healthcare and dental services in Mexico?

What should you do if you want to gather background information on your topic?

    • Ask your roommate

    • Look in a subject encyclopedia (or a whole bunch of them at once)

    • Guess

    • Read every book in the library on the subject

From Question to Keywords

*Which terms in this research question would you use when searching for articles: What are the effects of smoking on college students?

    • College, effects, students

    • Effects, smoking, college students

    • What, effects, smoking

    • The, effects, students

Keywords are typically the nouns in your research question.

*Which terms in this research question would you use when searching for articles: What was the role of women in World War I?

    • World War I, was, role

    • Women, what, role

    • Role, women, World War I

    • Role, in, World War I

Keywords are typically the nouns in your research question.

*Which terms in this research question would you use when searching for articles: What was the effect of The Simpsons on television?

    • The Simpsons, was, effect

    • What, The Simpsons, television

    • The, Simpsons, television

    • Effect, The Simpsons, television

Keywords are typically the nouns in your research question.

Which source

Choose Your Resource...

*Choose the best place to find:The history of television in the US

Book *

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*The score of last night's game

Book

Website *

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping

*An article about Angelina Jolie's humanitarian work

Book

Website

Magazine *

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*An article by a researcher about postpartum depression

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal *

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*Letters written between John and Abigail Adams

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*A story about a recent national disaster

Book

Website

Magazine*

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*The collected poetry of William Shakespeare

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*An article about women in the Revolutionary War

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*An in-depth biography of Helen Keller

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

How the stock market closed yesterday

Book

Website *

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*A press release about a new product

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*An article by a professor about Monet's influence on other artists

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal*

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*A detailed description of the events leading to World War I

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*A musical score by Beethoven

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*An article with lots of pictures of New York City

Book

Website

Magazine*

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*Breaking news on election results

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*The complete works of Van Gogh with background information

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*An arrangement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony for violin

Book *

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*Biographies of important Revolutionary War generals

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*The text of a recent Presidential speech

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*The results of a Congressional vote

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*An article your professor wrote

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal *

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*A work of fiction about a boy and his dog

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*A work of fiction about a typical American family

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*Information about the actor who starred in your favorite old movie

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*An in-depth article with interviews and commentary on an event that happened recently

Book

Website

Magazine*

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*An advertisement for a car from 1935

Book

Website

Magazine*

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*The results of the 1900 Census

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*A study on the effects of a new antidepressant on teenagers

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal*

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*The complete works of the poet Robert Frost

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*An article about the sinking of the Titanic written shortly after it happened

Book

Website

Magazine*

Scholarly Journal

Magazines are great sources for profiles of important people, articles by journalists, and in depth information on recent events.

*A ten-year study on the television watching habits of children

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal*

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study.

*A fictional account of a young girl's life during the French Revolution

Book*

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets.

*Directions to a friend's house

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*The address of the nearest McDonalds

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*The best deal on a new iPod

Book

Website*

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Websites are great sources for up to date information, directions and shopping.

*An article discussing whether or not Shakespeare wrote all of his own plays

Book

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal *

Journal articles are usually written by a scholar or professor and are usually the result of research or a study

*An in-depth biography of John F. Kennedy

Book *

Website

Magazine

Scholarly Journal

Books are the best place to find extensive information on a topic, musical scores, and the works of musicians and poets

Library Catalog

The library catalog can help you find:

Books

Articles

Websites

Friends

You can use the library catalog to find books, and the library's databases to find articles.

Which of the following can affect your search in the library catalog?

Font

Misspellings

Capitalization

Location

Like in most search engines, capitalization is not important in catalog searching.

If the book you're looking for isn't available at our library, what can you do?

UNC Library Express

Interlibrary Loan

Check the catalog at another UNC-system school and go get it there

All of the above

If you know the title of the book you're looking for, which search option would be most efficient?

Keyword anywhere

Keyword in title

Keyword in author

Keyword in subject

If you know the author of the book you're looking for, which search option would be most efficient?

Keyword anywhere

Keyword in title

Keyword in author

Keyword in subject

If you're looking for books on a particular topic, which search option would be most efficient?

Keyword anywhere

Keyword in title

Keyword in author

searching databases

Which of the following search connectors can be used to NARROW a search?

And

Or

But

Not

Using the term "And" in a search will yield fewer, more specific results.

Which of the following search connectors can be used to BROADEN a search?

And

Or

But

Not

Using "Or" is the best way to include synonyms or related terms in your search (such as death penalty or capital punishment)

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about skiing in Vermont?

Skiing or Vermont

Skiing not Vermont

Skiing Vermont

Skiing and Vermont

Using "skiing and Vermont" will only return articles that contain both terms.

Which search would you use in an article database to find the MOST results about cars?

Cars

Cars or Automobiles

Cars and Automobiles

Cars not Automobiles

If you searched only cars, you might miss some articles that just discuss automobiles.

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about wildlife in Alaska?

Wildlife or Alaska

Wildlife and Alaska

Wildlife not Alaska

Wildlife Alaska

Using "Wildlife and Alaska" will only return articles that contain both terms.

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about cookies without chocolate chips?

Cookies or Chocolate chip

Cookies not chocolate chip

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies and Chocolate chip

Using "not chocolate chips" will automatically eliminate all articles containing the words "chocolate chips"

A search for the truncated word dream* will NOT retrieve results containing the word:

Drain

Dreaming

Dreams

Dreamer

Truncation only replaces the letters after the symbol.

A PDF article looks like:

A website

A print article

A handwritten letter

A drawing

A PDF article looks exactly like the print version of the article, complete with graphs, pictures, and even advertisements.

The abstract of an article is:

A painting

A brief summary

Title and author information

How to find it

Reading the abstract is a quick and easy way to decide whether or not you are interested in reading the whole article.

An article database does NOT usually contain which of the following

Scholarly journals

Magazines

Websites

Newspapers

If you are looking for a website, a search or metasearch engine is the best place to start.

In a database search result, "vol" is an abbreviation for:

Volunteer

Volume

Voldemort

Volcano

The volume number is an important part of citing a source, so be sure to write it down!

A term for an organized collection of electronic material is:

Book

Database

Map

Magazine

An old-fashioned example of a database is a phone book.

A symbol that allows you to search for different forms of the same word is called a/an:

Truncation Symbol

Abbreviation Symbol

Shortening Symbol

Abridging Symbol

In most cases, the truncation symbol is an asterisk (*)

If you have done a search and retrieved too many results, which is the best way to narrow your search?

Add OR and a related term

Add AND and a related term

Add BUT and an opposite term

Add OR and an opposite term

Adding AND and an additional term will only return articles with both terms, so you will have fewer results."

Which search would you use in an article database to find the MOST results about the death penalty?"

Death penalty"

Death Penalty and Capital Punishment"

Death Penalty or Capital Punishment"

Death Penalty not Capital Punishment"

Both terms are used interchangeably and if you don't include both, you may miss a good source."

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about weight gain by first-year students?"

Weight gain or First-year students"

Weight gain first-year students"

Weight gain and First-year students"

Weight gain not first-year students"

The search connector 'and' searches for articles that contain both search terms."

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about other breeds of dogs besides Golden Retrievers?"

Dogs not Golden Retrievers"

Dogs and Golden Retrievers"

Dogs or Golden Retrievers"

Dogs Golden Retrievers"

The search connector 'not' eliminates any articles that contain the word after it."

When used in searching, the terms AND, OR, NOT are called:"

Articles"

Search Connectors"

Conjunctions"

Attachments"

You may also hear them called Boolean Operators."

The keywords in a research question are usually:"

Nouns"

Verbs"

Adverbs"

Adjectives"

It is easy to find the keywords in a research question. Just pick out the nouns!"

If you want to broaden a search for 'college', you could add the term:"

Student"

University"

Effect"

UNCG"

If you only search for 'college,' you might miss articles about universities."

Which search would you use in an article database to find articles about women and the death penalty?"

Women or death penalty"

Women and death penalty"

Women not death penalty"

Women death penalty"

The search connector 'and' narrows your search to articles that include the terms 'women' and 'death penalty'."

If you are going to combine AND and OR in one search, which of the following must you use?"

Parentheses"

Quotation marks"

Two extra spaces"

Nothing special"

It is just like the distributive property in math."

Which is the correct way to combine AND and OR into one search?"

Death penalty or capital punishment and women"

Death penalty or (capital punishment and women)"

(Death penalty or capital punishment) and women"

(Death penalty and women) or capital punishment"

Think of it as a math problem—the computer finds the 'or' articles first, then narrows them down with the 'and' term."

Scholarly VS Popular

A scholarly article has:

Lots of pictures

Lengthy interviews

Cited sources

Advertisements

Unlike articles in magazines and newspapers, articles in scholarly journals contain a list of the articles and books the author consulted while writing the article.

Peer-reviewed means:

Other students have read and approved the article

An editor has read and approved the article

Another specialist in the same field read and approved the article

A man on a pier approved the article

The practice of peer-reviewing journal articles helps maintain their credibility as sources.

Articles in scholarly journals are usually written by:"

Undergraduate students"

Reporters"

Professors"

Celebrities"

Some of these articles are also written by independent scholars."

Which of the following is a scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal?

Cosmopolitan

American Sociologist

US News and World Report

The Weekly Standard

The articles in American Sociologist are written by scholars, while the articles in <i>Cosmopolitan</i>, <i>US News</i> and <i>The Weekly Standard</i> are written by journalists.

Which of the following is NOT a scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal?

Journal of Contemporary History

International Security

Time

International Journal of E-Learning

Time is a news magazine.

Which of the following is a scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal?

Good Housekeeping

Better Homes and Gardens

Southern Living

Southern Cultures

The articles in Southern Cultures are written by scholars, while the articles in <i>Good Housekeeping</i>, <i>Better Homes and Gardens</i> and <i>Southern Living</i> are written by journalists.

Which of the following is NOT a scholarly (peer-reviewed) journal?

Educational Gerontology

Journal of Family Social Work

National Review

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism

National Review is a conservative news magazine.

websites

The web address of a college or university will most likely end in:

.com

.net

.edu

.org

Not all information on a website that ends in .edu should be assumed accurate because students and professors are often allowed to put up information on personal websites not sanctioned by the university.

Which of the following is a commercial website?

www.amazon.com

www.whitehouse.gov

www.uncg.edu

www.redcross.org

Amazon.com is a popular place to buy books, movies, and CDs.

The invisible web is:

Websites that cannot be seen without a special monitor

Websites that require special glasses

Websites that are not indexed by a search engine

Websites of spy agencies

The library's databases are part of the invisible web because they are password protected, so web crawlers cannot find them.

A search engine will return results from:

A subscription database

Personal email

A password protected site

A commercial website

Search engines do not index subscription databases because they are password protected.

When evaluating web resources, which of the following things do you NOT need to consider?

Accuracy

Objectivity

Authority

Web design

Unfortunately, very poorly designed websites may contain very good information- if you can find it.

In your research you happen upon a website that looks decent. Out of the following choices, which would you NOT consider when evaluating appropriateness for a research paper?

(need answers)