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Sources and Research

Total questions: 28

Worksheet time: 14mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following websites is the MOST reliable?

a)

www.nys.org

b)

www.nys.net

c)

www.nys.com

d)

www.nys.gov

2.

Which of the following is an example of information from an objective, balanced source?

a)

Politicians are destroying our country. They are liars.

b)

Video games are terrible because they make children lazy.

c)

According to some scientists, drinking water may benefit memory. Other scientists point out that the study linking water and memory is inconclusive.

d)

Winter is the best season of the year because I love skiing. Summer is the worst because I don’t get to see my classmates that often.

3.

Which of the following BEST helps you evaluate a source?

a)

an author’s academic credentials

b)

an author's age

c)

an author's sense of humor

d)

an author's use of charts, graphs, and other images

4.

What’s the BEST way to confirm the accuracy of a piece of information?

a)

look to see what else the author has written

b)

check if the author cited their sources

c)

look at the date that it was published

d)

find out if the source was published in print as well as online

5.

Fatima needs to use one PRIMARY source for her project on politics and culture in the US in the 1980s. Which would her teacher accept?

a)

a novel of historical fiction set in 1985

b)

an article about Ronald Reagan written in 2004

c)

a diary entry written by Madonna in 1988

d)

an essay about how art of the 1980s influenced later decades

6.

Why is Wikipedia not a strong research source?

a)

Wikipedia authors try to trick people with incorrect information.

b)

Anyone can edit a Wikipedia entry, so information can be wrong or incomplete.

c)

Wikipedia never contains citations.

d)

Wikipedia contains too many details and doesn’t give a good overview.

7.

The suffix .org is used for domain names of what type of organizations?

a)

internet service providers

b)

non-profit groups

c)

online stores

d)

schools and colleges

8.

If an article is biased, it shows _____________.

a)

an unfair preference for or dislike of something

b)

a lack of education on the part of the writer

c)

a lack of seriousness on the part of the writer

d)

poor research or writing skills

9.

Alex wants to learn about dog care. Which source is most likely to have credible information for his report?

a)

Get Smart with Pet Mart, www.PetMart.com/tips: Delicious and nutritious, we offer a wide range of products for any breed of dog.

b)

Helen Miller Canine Advice, www.helensway.com/dog-care: When you bring a puppy into your life, you take on responsibility for its care. Helen Miller offers dog training classes.

c)

Debi's Doggy Dream, www.Debi'sDoggyDream.net: I have owned dogs for over 25 years. Visit my blog to learn about what the pooches in my care are up to day in and day out.

d)

American Society for Caring for Animals: www.ASCA.org: ASCA veterinarians and behaviorists offer these guidelines regarding your dog's health and daily activities.

10.

Which source shows the least bias?

a)

Bill Clinton was clearly a terrible president. In fact, he may have been the worst president ever. Our country's lack of credibility among the rest of the world is all his fault.

b)

Historians are divided on the legacy of Clinton's presidency. Some say his economic policies were successful, but others challenge his personal integrity.

c)

Bill Clinton has gotten a bad rap. Criticism of his personal integrity may be valid, but what about his economic policies? He was the last president to have a surplus in the fed budget.

d)

I think that Bill Clinton was a great president. The problem was Congress at the time. Right-wing conservatives spent too much time focusing on his personal behavior and not enough on moving our country forward.

11.

What is a primary source?

a)

a document or other account written during an event

b)

a description of an event written later by a historian

c)

an opinion piece written by a subject matter expert

d)

the most important document or account for a given essay

12.

Rika is writing a report on school uniforms for the school newspaper. Which source would be the best resource for her report?

a)

an advertisement from a company that sells school uniforms

b)

the website of a school that has decided to do away with school uniforms

c)

a blog post written by a student giving her opinion about wearing a school uniform

d)

an article written by an educator detailing the connection between dress and student achievement

13.

Wikipedia can be helpful because _________________.

a)

It is a primary source document.

b)

Facts are checked by a professional fact checker.

c)

It provides citations and links to more credible sources.

d)

Information can be quoted from there without providing a citation.

14.

All of the following may suggest bias, except:

a)

first person, as in "I think"

b)

subjective language

c)

a lack of facts or examples

d)

a link to another source

15.

Emily is writing a report on the connection between advertising junk food and children's health for her social studies class. Which online source is likely to have the most credible information?

a)

"Attracting the Adolescent Eye." Tips for capturing the growing teen market from the ad industry's leading association. www.adaa.teens.org

b)

"Junk Food and Teens." One mom's blog about how advertising turned three healthy teens into junk food junkies. www.brittablum.blog.net.

c)

"Advertising and Children." A summary of the research on the effect of advertising on children and their eating behaviors. www.ped.schoolofmedicine.edu

d)

"Tailored for Teens." The disgraceful and dishonest practices of the advertisers seeking to attract the teen market. www.waverlytimes.com.

16.

How should you start a research project?

a)

read an overview of your topic and the subject area

b)

ask your teacher how many sources you’ll need

c)

take and organize notes

d)

choose a topic that’s neither too broad or too narrow

17.

Pre-search is

a)

Googling a topic and seeing how much information about it exists

b)

getting an overview of your topic before you dive into researching it

c)

writing a bibliography recording all your sources

d)

developing a detailed outline so you know what information you’ll need

18.

Sources can be classified into which two categories?

a)

documents and videos

b)

academic and government

c)

primary and secondary

d)

books and textbooks

19.

A bibliography

a)

is a type of in-text citation

b)

is a list of all the sources you used

c)

contains any graphs and charts you referred to

d)

is a complete list of your footnotes

20.

What's essential when you're deciding on a research topic?

a)

that you like the topic

b)

that there's a website on the topic

c)

that there's a lot of videos on the topic

d)

that no one has heard of the topic

21.

You are doing research in a large public library. What source would you not expect to find there?

a)

an encyclopedia

b)

the Internet

c)

old letters

d)

journal articles

22.

What is an example of a primary source?

a)

a textbook

b)

an academic journal

c)

an encyclopedia

d)

a diary

23.

Which website would be considered the most credible?

a)

one sponsored by a club

b)

one sponsored by a college

c)

one sponsored by a person

d)

one sponsored by a store

24.

Why is it important for you to take notes when you research?

a)

So you can decide if you want to pursue the topic.

b)

So you can memorize the facts.

c)

So you can give credit for your own ideas.

d)

So you can organize your paper.

25.

What is the purpose of the bibliography?

a)

To define words the reader may not know.

b)

To tell the reader where find specific ideas in your paper.

c)

To tell where your facts and quotes came from.

d)

To give credit to your librarian for helping you.

26.

When should you cite a source?

a)

each time you write an idea that is your own

b)

each time you write a fact or idea that's not your own

c)

each time you write a word that the reader may not know

d)

each time you include your own photo or drawing

27.

How do you show that a sentence is a quote from another source?

a)

underline it

b)

put it in bold

c)

put it in italics

d)

surround it with quotation marks

28.

Which statement is true?

a)

If you quote less than three lines from a book, you don't have to cite it.

b)

If you quote information from a web site, you don't have to cite it.

c)

If you quote information from a print or digital source, you must cite it.

d)

If you state your opinion in your research paper, you must cite it.