A
An encyclopedia is an example of:
A. Primary source
B. Secondary source
C. Tertiary source
D. Grey literature
C. Tertiary source
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a primary source?
A. Created at the time of the event
B. Direct evidence
C. Interpreted and analyzed
D. Raw material for research
C. Interpreted and analyzed
A tertiary source is most useful for:
A. Deep analysis
B. Reviewing literature
C. Getting a broad overview
D. Presenting new research
C. Getting a broad overview
A history textbook analyzing World War II is a:
A. Primary source
B. Secondary source
C. Tertiary source
D. Grey literature
B. Secondary source
What is the main purpose of a primary source?
A. To summarize research
B. To provide original, firsthand information
C. To provide an overview
D. To advertise findings
B. To provide original, firsthand information
What distinguishes a scholarly source from a popular source?
A. Use of visuals
B. Advertising
C. Peer review and citations
D. Written by journalists
C. Peer review and citations
A bibliography in a textbook is an example of:
A. Primary source
B. Secondary source
C. Tertiary source
D. Scholarly source
C. Tertiary source
What type of source is a meta-analysis of studies on climate change?
A. Primary
B. Secondary
C. Tertiary
D. Popular
B. Secondary
What distinguishes a secondary source?
A. Original material
B. Raw data
C. Interpretation of other sources
D. Government publication
C. Interpretation of other sources
Which of the following is a limitation of primary sources?
A. Too analytical
B. Often outdated
C. May lack context
D. Easy to interpret
C. May lack context
University press books and academic journals are examples of:
A. Popular sources
B. Institutional publications
C. Fee-based sources only
D. Grey literature
B. Institutional publications
X posts during a live protest are considered:
A. Secondary source
B. Tertiary source
C. Popular source
D. Primary source
D. Primary source
What’s a potential issue with using social media sources in research?
A. It’s free
B. It's peer-reviewed
C. High risk of misinformation
D. Difficult to access
C. High risk of misinformation
Which is not a characteristic of grey literature?
A. Commercially published
B. Hard to locate
C. Non-peer-reviewed
D. May include technical reports
A. Commercially published
Which is a popular source?
A. Academic journal
B. Science textbook
C. Magazine article in Time
D. Lab report
C. Magazine article in Time
A political scientist cites real-time Twitter posts from citizens during a revolution. What dual roles do these sources fulfill?
A. Tertiary and commercial
B. Primary and scholarly
C. Primary and social media
D. Grey literature and textbook
C. Primary and social media. They are both primary sources and examples of social media-based content.
Which of the following combinations represent overlapping categories of information sources?
A. Popular and primary
B. Institutional and grey literature
C. Fee-based and secondary
D. Tertiary and government
B. Institutional and grey literature. Institutional publications like working papers and reports can also be grey literature.
A PhD student downloads a preprint of a medical study from an open repository and compares it with its peer-reviewed published version. The preprint is:
A. A tertiary source
B. A scholarly popular source
C. A grey literature primary source
D. A commercial source
C. A grey literature primary source. The preprint is grey literature and also a primary source of original findings.
A researcher is analyzing how the representation of gender roles has evolved in history textbooks from 1960 to 2020. The 1960 textbook in this case would be considered:
A. A secondary source
B. A tertiary source
C. A primary source
D. Grey literature
C. A primary source. The textbook is the object of study, so it's treated as a primary source.
Which of these is a fee-based information source?
A. Wikipedia
B. Government website
C. Web of Science
D. Google Books
C. Web of Science
A fee-based source like Scopus is most advantageous when:
A. Basic facts are needed
B. Reviewing popular media
C. Creating public blog posts
D. Conducting comprehensive academic literature searches
D. Conducting comprehensive academic literature searches. Scopus offers advanced tools and access to scholarly peer-reviewed materials.
Why should grey literature be approached with caution despite its richness?
A. It lacks rigorous editorial control
B. It is always inaccurate
C. It is outdated
D. It contains only opinions
A. It lacks rigorous editorial control. It is often not peer-reviewed, so quality varies.
A blog post by a professor summarizing their unpublished conference talk would best be classified as:
A. Primary scholarly source
B. Grey literature with secondary characteristics
C. Tertiary government data
D. Peer-reviewed article
B. Grey literature with secondary characteristics. The blog is grey literature and interprets a primary event (the talk), making it partly secondary.
Why might tertiary sources be problematic in fast-evolving fields like COVID-19 research?
A. They contain raw data
B. They oversimplify and are often outdated
C. They are biased toward primary sources
D. They are peer-reviewed too quickly
B. They oversimplify and are often outdated. Due to delayed publication cycles, tertiary sources may lag behind current findings.
A market research report not published in a journal or book format is most accurately described as:
A. Peer-reviewed literature
B. Popular information
C. Grey literature
D. Government publication
C. Grey literature. Market research reports are classic examples of grey literature.