Deck 10: Finding and Evaluating Business Information

Question 1

As you prepare to analyze the research question and topic, which of the following would be your best first move?

A)considering whether there are options other than outsourcing this work
B)asking entry-level employees how they feel about doing these tasks
C)calling a few outsourcing service providers to get quotes from them
D)finding out whether any of your competitors outsource this kind of work
E)comparing the specific terms of a few different outsourcing service providers

Answer 1

A
Explanation: A) Your boss asked you to pick the best service provider to outsource your office work to, which assumes that outsourcing this work is the most efficient and cost-effective solution for you. Perhaps a different solution might be better. Broadening your research questions to determine whether outsourcing is the best choice for you makes the most sense.

Question 2

Your colleague tells you that Wikipedia ________.

A)is an acceptable source for background information only
B)will be considered as a highly credible source by your professional audience
C)should be avoided in favour of sources like professional journals and websites
D)is a more professional source than a national newspaper
E)is a source that your professional audience will expect you to consult

Answer 2

C
Explanation: C) If you perform a quick Google search or rely on a general and nonvalidated source like Wikipedia, even for background information, your audience is less likely to respect your findings. You should use professional and highly credible sources like academic journals, material published by professional associations in the industry, major newspapers, etc.

Question 3

Doing background research to broaden your understanding of your topic's history, context and structure, and categories is part of which aspect of determining what information you need?

A)analyzing the research question and topic
B)identifying audience concerns and needs
C)establishing scope of the research
D)defining research activities
E)developing a work plan

Answer 3

A
Explanation: A) Before doing in-depth research to explore your specific research questions, it is important to understand your general topic.

Question 4

You decide to do some background research on the topic of outsourcing to broaden your general understanding of the topic and help structure your research. Which of the following questions addresses the context and structure of outsourcing service providers?

A)When and why did outsourcing first develop?
B)How has outsourcing evolved over time?
C)What types of outsourcing service providers exist?
D)How does outsourcing fit into the larger system of our workplace and tasks?
E)How do typical outsourcing service providers compare and contrast?

Question 5

When doing background research on your topic, asking, "What else exists that serves similar purposes?" is a question about the topic's ________.

A)categories
B)history
C)popularity
D)appeal
E)context and structure

Question 6

Which of the following is TRUE of academic research?

A)The goal of most academic research is for the researcher to learn.
B)Its starting point is typically a specific question or problem.
C)The aim of the research is to find, analyze, and organize information that will solve a problem.
D)The skills required for it are not applicable to workplace research.
E)It in no way prepares you for the research you will need to do in the workplace.

Question 7

Which of the following would most likely be considered a secondary source?

A)talking to the entry-level employees about why the duties are not being properly executed
B)surveying other companies who outsource the kinds of duties you are looking to outsource
C)reading a journal article about the perceived versus actual cost effectiveness of outsourcing
D)discussing the situation with your boss
E)speaking to outsourcing service providers about some options

Question 8

________ are the characteristics of the research that prevent you from generalizing your findings more broadly.

A)Scopes
B)Limitations
C)Sources
D)Samples
E)Populations

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a primary source?

A)the website of an outsourcing service provider that you are considering
B)a Wikipedia article about the popularity of outsourcing
C)a journal article about the impact of outsourcing on a company's bottom line
D)a research report discussing the effects of outsourcing on the overall economy
E)a textbook chapter about the ethical implications of outsourcing

Question 10

Which of the following is TRUE of workplace research?

A)Its starting point is a topic.
B)The goal of most workplace research is for the researcher to learn.
C)Employers will expect you to have all the information you need at your fingertips.
D)You will need to find appropriate sources.
E)It requires skills completely different from those used in academic research.

Question 11

Doing background research on your topic ________.

A)is not advised for business research
B)is only necessary for academic research
C)is vital, since you are required to include it in your final presentation
D)can help you structure your research
E)should not include information about your topic's history

Question 12

Which of the following questions is NOT used to identify audience concerns and needs?

A)Who is the primary audience?
B)Who else might be affected by this problem or decision?
C)What sources will your audience expect you to consult?
D)What questions will your audience expect you to answer when you present the research?
E)When and why did my topic first develop?

Question 13

At your company a number of routine office tasks are loosely shared among entry-level employees, who perform these duties in addition to their specific job descriptions. This often results in tasks being done late, poorly, or not at all. You suggest to your boss that outsourcing this work might be a good idea. He is interested and asks you to research and recommend a service provider. In this research project, who is your primary audience?

A)your company's entry-level employees
B)your boss
C)your company's upper management
D)the outsourcing service providers
E)yourself

Question 14

________ sources are books and articles that synthesize material from ________ sources, framing them for general readers.

A)Primary; secondary
B)Secondary; tertiary
C)Tertiary; primary
D)Primary; tertiary
E)Tertiary; secondary

Question 15

All of the following assignments would require you to conduct research and share the results EXCEPT ________.

A)investigating why product sales are stagnant
B)determining which new products would most appeal to customers
C)adding the results that you were just sent to your report
D)deciding which new business your company should acquire
E)comparing several insurance plans to see which your company should offer to its employees

Question 16

Which of the following best articulates the research question you have been asked to explore?

A)Is it fair to make entry-level employees do this additional work?
B)How much will it cost to outsource the work we are currently doing in-house?
C)Which outsourcing service provider would be the best for us?
D)Is outsourcing the best solution to our problem?
E)Why aren't our entry-level employees responsible enough to get this work done themselves?

Question 17

Your supervisor recently expressed disappointment that no one in your department was participating in the company's new volunteer initiative, which encourages employees to "adopt" causes they care about and donate time and resources to help them. You decide to research some options-including a mentoring program at a local high school and a recreational centre at a nearby seniors' facility-so you can discuss them with your team and hopefully convince them to join the program with you. In this case, your primary audience is ________.

A)your supervisor
B)your department
C)your team members
D)the high school students
E)the seniors

Question 18

Your colleague tells you that one of your sources will not be highly regarded by the professional audience to whom you will present, and advises you to omit it. To which source is she most likely referring?

A)The New York Times
B)The Toronto Star
C)Statistics Canada
D)Wikipedia
E)Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology

Question 19

Which of the following is TRUE?

A)Business research shouldn't follow a structured process.
B)The biggest challenge in business research is starting with a general topic and developing a research question.
C)Understanding exactly what you are looking for and where to look for it will benefit you in business research.
D)In business research, once you find data your work is done.
E)In business research, you can depend upon the credibility of all your sources.

Question 20

You need to determine the steps that you will take to answer your research questions. Which of the following research activities best correlates with the research question, "What non-financial drawbacks are there to outsourcing?"

A)Interview the entry-level employees.
B)Speak to your boss and other department heads.
C)Interview intern candidates.
D)Review tax implications of outsourcing versus in-house work.
E)Interview other companies using outsourcing service providers for tasks similar to yours.

Question 21

You enter the phrase flex-time schedule into Google and get about 313,000 results. Trying your search again, this time with quotation marks around your phrase, and entering "flex time schedule" ________.

A)should not be done if you need an exact match
B)will likely dramatically increase the number of results
C)will result in a list of resources including that identical phrase
D)will yield results that include any of those three words anywhere on the page
E)will reduce the number of results by excluding words from your search

Question 22

Using the search string "cake recipe" - "egg" in a search engine would yield results ________.

A)about eggs that are not cake recipes
B)of cake recipes that mention eggs
C)about cake recipes or eggs, but not both
D)of cake recipes that do not mention eggs
E)about excluding cake from one's diet

Question 23

If you perform a search using both of the following phrases "health insurance plans" and "freelance workers," the search engine will ________.

A)give you sites that include either exact phrase
B)only give you sites that include both exact phrases
C)give you sites that include any of these five words anywhere on the page
D)only give you sites that include all five of these words anywhere on the page
E)only give you sites that include the first phrase and exclude the second

Question 24

The ________ process is designed to ensure that articles in academic journals are accurate and honest.

A)random sample
B)peer review
C)primary source
D)scope limitation
E)survey population

Question 25

All of the following are ways to reduce the number of results in a web search EXCEPT ________.

A)putting quotation marks around your search phrase
B)adding more words to your search phrase
C)excluding words from your search with a minus sign
D)using the Boolean operator AND
E)using synonyms or alternative wordings

Question 26

Boolean operators ________.

A)act as placeholders for unknown words in a search phrase
B)must be spelled out using lowercase letters
C)are used to search for an exact match of a word or phrase
D)can help expand or reduce your search results
E)use symbols like "*," "#," and "&" along with key words

Question 27

The work plan ________.

A)is created before you establish the scope of your research
B)involves setting the limitations of your research
C)must not be modified as you find alternative solutions to your problem
D)does not need to be organized sequentially by due date
E)should not include space for recording results

Question 28

Jane needs to find financial data, SWOT analyses, and company profiles for her current project. Which of the following would be the best search tool for Jane to use?

A)Ebsco Business Source Premier
B)AltaVista
C)The Wall Street Journal Index
D)Business Week Index
E)New York Times Index

Question 29

The last step before beginning your research is to ________.

A)identify audience concerns and needs
B)develop a work plan
C)define research activities
D)analyze the research question and topic
E)establish the scope of the research

Question 30

When you type into a basic search engine like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, the sites that appear at the top or on the side of the results page are usually ________.

A)those that are most frequently accessed
B)those whose organizations have paid to be featured in the results
C)those that most closely match your search terms
D)those that are least relevant to your search
E)those that you have visited before

Question 31

The web search "* adopts flex-time schedule" would yield which of the following results?

A)"Value-Mart adopts flex-time schedule"
B)"Flex-time schedule adopted by Vandelay Industries"
C)"Many firms leery of adopting flex-time schedule"
D)"Office World implements flex-time schedule"
E)"Flex-time schedule adopted by more and more firms"

Question 32

Using an online database like LexisNexis to search for articles on your topic ________.

A)is not as effective as doing a Google search
B)allows you to search publications not available through a Google search
C)is less expensive but more time-consuming than a Google search
D)leads you to articles that are less reliable than web pages
E)does not allow you access to articles from newspaper and magazines

Question 33

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A)Primary sources provide raw data.
B)Primary sources include surveys and interviews.
C)Primary sources include texts written by the subjects you are evaluating.
D)Primary sources are either qualitative or quantitative.
E)Primary sources include research reports written by the researchers themselves.

Question 34

Searching through which of the following would likely yield the narrowest search results?

A)LexisNexis
B)Standard and Poor's
C)New York Times Index
D)Hoover's
E)Ebsco Business Source Premier

Question 35

When you conduct a search in most web search engines, you can use ________ as a wild-card symbol within a phrase to represent an unknown word.

A)a question mark (?)
B)a capital W (W)
C)an asterisk (*)
D)an ampersand (&)
E)a minus symbol (-)

Question 36

In your research you consult Thomson One Banker, IBIS World, and Yahoo Finance. This means that you are searching through ________.

A)the web
B)libraries' paper holdings
C)books available for purchase
D)abstracts of articles available at a particular library
E)corporate and industry research reports

Question 37

Searching articles in online databases like LexisNexis and Ebsco Business Source Premier ________.

A)bears little resemblance to searching the web
B)is possible only if you personally purchase a subscription
C)allows you to search more sources, though most are less reliable than web pages
D)lets you specify that you only want articles that are peer reviewed
E)gives you access to article abstracts but never the full texts of the articles themselves

Question 38

Putting quotation marks around the search phrase you enter in a search engine should likely ________.

A)yield fewer results, which will be more relevant to your search phrase
B)yield fewer results, which will be less relevant to your search phrase
C)yield more results, which will be more relevant to your search phrase
D)yield more results, which will be less relevant to your search phrase
E)have no effect whatsoever on the number or relevancy of results

Question 39

To be an efficient researcher you need to do all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A)evaluate your sources for credibility
B)use a library or bookseller to find relevant books
C)use only Google for web-related content
D)follow leads in good sources
E)use an online database or index to find articles from print publications

Question 40

Ali's boss asks him to track down some books for their team's research project that can be consulted without purchase. Of the following, which would be the most likely place Ali should look?

A)Amazon.ca
B)LexisNexis
C)Yahoo Finance
D)Google Scholar
E)Borders.com

Question 41

All of the following are advantages of looking at books in a school library EXCEPT ________.

A)they usually have the newest titles, and if they don't have a book that you want they can order it and get it for you right away
B)if you find a book that is useful for your research, you can browse the area around it on the shelves to find similar titles
C)librarians and faculty have determined that the books on the shelves are worthy of being in the library's collection
D)the libraries' online catalogs allow you to do key word searches using many of the same techniques you use for a web search
E)if your library doesn't have a book that you want you may be able to do an inter-library loan

Question 42

Considering whether any web links are broken is involved with evaluating the source's ________.

A)accuracy
B)authorship
C)age
D)acumen
E)authority

Question 43

Going beneath the surface of the web ________.

A)finds only information aimed at the public and consumers
B)accesses free information exclusively
C)requires federal search permission
D)omits information in publications that require a subscription
E)is done by search engines that search several online databases

Question 44

Which of the following questions is recommended for evaluating the authorship of a source?

A)Do other sources agree with this information?
B)Is the source published by a reputable press or is the website sponsored by a reputable organization?
C)Does the author acknowledge and respond to opposing points of view?
D)How current is this information?
E)Does the source provide a copyright?

Question 45

________ uses a predetermined list of questions to collect a structured set of information from a selected audience.

A)Sample instrument
B)Survey research
C)Interviewing
D)Observational research
E)Tertiary research

Question 46

The audience from whom you want to collect survey responses is your ________.

A)survey population
B)sample
C)convenience sample
D)targeted sample
E)random sample

Question 47

Mandy is conducting a survey and her primary goal is making sure that survey participants actually respond. Which survey medium would be best for Mandy?

A)mail surveys
B)web surveys
C)telephone surveys
D)email surveys
E)Participants are just as likely to respond in any of these mediums.

Question 48

You are researching solutions to a problem at your business and it appears that the in-depth research that you want has not already been done. In this situation, ________.

A)shutting down the research project is your only choice
B)performing tertiary research is required
C)composing a survey to elicit this information yourself is an option
D)interviewing experts in the field is not a choice
E)conducting primary research is not recommended

Question 49

Which of the following questions is recommended for use in assessing the accuracy of a source?

A)How current is this information?
B)Do others frequently cite the source?
C)If your source is a website, does it identify the author?
D)Is the source published by a reputable press or is the website sponsored by a reputable organization?
E)Are there broken links?

Question 50

Given your company's particular situation, which of the following options would likely be the best choice?

A)doing telephone surveys with a targeted sample
B)doing face-to-face interviews with a convenience sample
C)doing a print survey with a random sample
D)doing a web survey with the entire population
E)doing an email survey with a random sample

Question 51

You are part of the team working to create the survey. The recommendation to your team is that the surveys be conducted face-to-face or over the phone to increase the likelihood that participants will respond. Your team finds this approach problematic for your situation for a number of reasons. Which of the following is likely NOT one of these reasons?

A)Participants will be unable to ask clarifying questions during the survey.
B)The geographic distribution of employees could make this difficult to achieve.
C)Conducting these surveys for all the employees in the company would be time-consuming.
D)Researchers would have to manually record the results of surveys or enter them in spreadsheets.
E)Dedicated researchers would be needed to administer these types of surveys.

Question 52

Which of the following is an example of primary research?

A)interpreting the results of a published survey of consumers
B)interviewing consumers about what appeals to them in a product
C)searching a database for articles about consumer spending patterns
D)googling to find data on trends in consumer behaviour
E)watching a documentary about how the recession has affected consumer spending

Question 53

A sample is random when ________.

A)members are selected based on the ease with which they can participate in the survey
B)every member of the population has an equal chance of being selected
C)members are restricted to a specific subset of the population
D)some members of the population are more likely to be selected based on specific criteria
E)some members of the population are less likely to be selected based on specific criteria

Question 54

For which of the following question types would there likely be the greatest variation in responses?

A)yes/no
B)multiple choice
C)Likert (agreement)scale
D)rating scale
E)open-ended

Question 55

When it comes to research, ________.

A)students should be discouraged from using books, as they are less credible than online sources
B)students often shun online information sources in favour of books
C)the drawback with online content is that it cannot be updated regularly
D)books are valuable sources, as they are often professionally written, reviewed, and edited
E)the widespread availability of online content makes books irrelevant

Question 56

The original idea is to survey every employee in the entire company, including those overseas. This would mean you would be surveying ________.

A)the entire population
B)a sample
C)a convenience sample
D)a targeted sample
E)a random sample

Question 57

You find a website with some interesting information about your topic. The author is a well-known expert in the field. There is some useful data, for which the author has taken care to provide citations. There are also some promising looking links, but when you click on them they are broken. You check the last-updated date and see that it is almost a year ago. What is your evaluation of this source?

A)This source should be cited in your report, as it amply meets all 3 A's.
B)This source has some accuracy issues so it should not be cited.
C)This source is not terribly recent, but given the nature of your research it is acceptable.
D)This source fares well as to authorship and accuracy, but it is not current enough to be cited for a technology project.
E)This source is problematic regarding all 3 A's.

Question 58

You find a website with some interesting information about your topic. The author is a well-known expert in the field. There is some useful data, for which the author has taken care to provide citations. There are also some promising looking links, but when you click on them, they are broken. You check the last-updated date and see that it is almost a year ago. Which of the following is an accurate assessment of this source, following the 3 A's?

A)The broken weblinks suggests that the page may be outdated.
B)The author's qualifications are questionable.
C)The author expects you to take her word for the data.
D)The source seems irrelevant to your problem.
E)The last-updated date indicates a very current source.

Question 59

Given the number of countries and cultures in the world, ________.

A)preparing yourself to work internationally is an easily managed task
B)working in a multicultural workplace should be effortless
C)anticipating all the countries you may need to know about in your career is a simple matter
D)searching the web is a good way to stay current in the area of international communication
E)obtaining a book about cultural issues that you can refer to over the years will suffice

Question 60

Which of the following performs federated searches?

A)Yahoo
B)Google
C)Biznar
D)Bing
E)AltaVista

Question 61

Software programs like EndNote and EasyBib ________.

A)can only format citations in APA style
B)cannot format citations in MLA style
C)can save source information and reformat references in different style formats
D)require you to do the formatting of citations
E)only format in Chicago style, as that is preferred in business

Question 62

Interviews ________.

A)must take place between exactly two people
B)do not give the researcher the opportunity to delve deeply into answers
C)limit participants to predefined responses
D)can be done by email
E)are less time consuming than surveys

Question 63

Instead of just investigating which new computers your company should buy, you decide to also explore options like leasing equipment or upgrading your current machines. This means that you have narrowed down your research questions.

Question 64

Lily inherits a project from a coworker and finds that very little research has been done, though the original deadline is a week away. Since she is unable to extend the deadline, she will likely have to narrow the scope of her research.

Question 65

The ________ is the number that appears most frequently in a distribution.

A)median
B)mode
C)mean
D)range
E)total count

Question 66

Building your reference list as you research ________.

A)is an inefficient way to proceed
B)is impossible in light of the prevalence of online research
C)will ensure that you can find the information when you need it again
D)is recommended unless you are using a software program to organize sources
E)will waste time as you prepare your final report

Question 67

The goal of most academic research is for you-the researcher-to learn.

Question 68

When you download a file from the web ________.

A)you should always keep its original filename
B)it is unethical to change its original filename
C)you should rename it as the date that you found the article
D)if its original filename is vague, rename it as something easily identifiable
E)it is impossible to change its original filename

Question 69

Which of the following statements is NOT true regarding finding research that contradicts your position?

A)It is ethically sound to ignore the contradiction and maintain your original position.
B)You have an ethical responsibility to include all relevant information in your report.
C)One ethical option is to modify your position.
D)You can concede the fact and explain why it does not undermine your position.
E)You can eliminate the aspect of your report that is contradicted and stress other arguments instead.

Question 70

A professional audience will value your information if you use professional and highly credible sources like Wikipedia or a Google search.

Question 71

Academic research and workplace research have nothing in common.

Question 72

Observational research ________.

A)is usually done in a question-and-answer format
B)collects a structured set of information from a selected audience
C)offers advantages over self-reported data from surveys and interviews
D)requires that you depend upon memory, as you should not write down information during the observation
E)should never be recorded

Question 73

If you wanted to assess the general level of participant satisfaction with a product, which type of question would be best?

A)The yes/no question "Are you satisfied with this product?"
B)The true/false question "I am satisfied with this product."
C)The true/false question "I am dissatisfied with this product."
D)The rating scale question "How satisfied are you with this product on a scale of 1 to 10?"
E)The open-ended question "Are you satisfied with this product?"

Question 74

When using a basic search engine like Yahoo, one tip for narrowing your results is to add more words to the search phrase.

Question 75

You should organize your findings by ________.

A)the source of information
B)the research questions
C)print versus online sources
D)the chronological order in which you found them
E)alphabetical order

Question 76

To find books available for purchase you can use a search Northwestern University NUCat or University of Wisconsin MadCat.

Question 77

Satisfaction Ratings: {6, 3, 6, 6, 9, 1, 4}
What is the range of the satisfaction ratings reported above?

A)4
B)5
C)6
D)7
E)8

Question 78

If you use a search engine like Bing, you can find specialized content on the web that is often not accessible through a general search engine.

Question 79

If you want to find web pages about companies that use a FileMaker database, you could try a search using a short sentence like "* uses FileMaker database."

Question 80

Before doing in-depth research to explore your research questions, it is important to understand your general topic.