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DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT FOR LIBS 100:
INTRODUCTION TO INFORMATION LITERACY AND RESEARCH
Directions:
The purpose of this diagnostic evaluation is for your instructor to discover what you already know about researching information and what you need to learn about researching information. This evaluation is not graded; therefore, relax and answer the following questions to the best of your ability in the spaces below.
PART I
Match each term in Column A with the most appropriate definition in Column B. Examine the definitions in the whole table in order to determine the best match (continued on reverse side in most copies of the Diagnostic).
Column A Column B
__2__RAM 1. interface that incorporates movable windows, icons, and a mouse
__5__Operating System 2. memory that functions as the computer’s primary workspace
__12__Blogs 3. a plug-and-play interface for peripheral devices, such as thumb drives.
__1__GUI 4. web sites in which original content on a topic is edited by visitors to the site with a history of their revisions
__3__USB Port 5. program that manages the computer system
__11__Scholarly Journals
6. a publication with either popular, trade, or peer-reviewed articles from different authors, and issued multiple times a year
__4__Wikis
7. unacknowledged use of another person’s words or ideas
__7__Plagiarism
8. a list of citations of works an author refers to in a text (e.g., journal article or book) or a list of citations to works on a particular subject
__10__Abstract
9. a wireless network, whose components are inter-operable and comply with a standard regardless of their manufacturer
__9__Wi-Fi 10. a brief summary of the main
ideas of an article
__8__Bibliography
11. a publication with a regular frequency containing
information written by
experts on current research
in a given field
__6__Periodical
12. online, interactive, and relatively frequent postings of comments on topics of interest to an individual or group
PART II
Read the following questions and check the box next to the best answer for each question.
1. Which of the following is not a searchable field in a library online catalog?
0 a. Subject Heading
0 b. Author
X c. Publisher
0 d. Title
2. Where do you search to find books in a library?
0 a. Reader’s Guide
0 b. ERIC Database
0 c. Yahoo!
X d. Online Public Access Catalog
3. Which of the following is not the correct function of a Boolean operator?
0 a. AND allows you to broaden your search results
0 b. OR allows you to broaden your search results
0 c. NOT allows you to narrow your search results
0 d. AND allows you to narrow your search results
4. The Library of Congress Subject Headings arrange books on the library shelves by:
0 a. Author
0 b. Title
0 c. Year of Publication
0 d. Subject
5. What are two major classification systems used by United States libraries?
0 a. American Library Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
0 b. Dewey Decimal Classification System and Cutter Classification System
0 c. Library of Congress Classification System and American Library
Classification System
0 d. Library of Congress Classification System and Dewey Decimal System
6. When developing a topic for a research paper, it is helpful to state your topic in the form of a question and isolate the key ideas or concepts. A motivational question to ask yourself at the beginning is:
0 a. Who else in my class has chosen the same topic?
0 b. Is there any specific aspect of this topic that I am truly interested in?
0 c. Is there enough material available on the Internet to write a research
paper?
0 d. Do I know how to cite my sources?
7. You should evaluate information found on the Internet because:
0 a. The design of the website changes the information contained there
0 b. Internet information goes through the editorial process before being
uploaded
0 c. Most material published on the Internet has not gone through the
editorial process
0 d. Internet information sources are not acceptable for college level
research
8. To limit your search results in Internet Web directories and search engines, it is helpful to:
0 a. Put asterisks before each search term
0 b. Put question marks around each search term
0 c. Put asterisks after each search term
0 d. Put quotation marks around the words to search as a phrase
9. The most common way to shorten words to search a database is:
0 a. Right-hand truncation
0 b. Wildcard truncation
0 c. Left-hand truncation
0 d. Straight-card truncation
10. When you perform an author search in a library catalog, which do you type first?
0 a. Author’s last name
0 b. Author’s first name
0 c. Author’s salutation
0 d. Title of book
11. The best way to start to research a relatively unfamiliar topic is to acquire an overview of your topic by:
0 a. Finding a bibliography
0 b. Entering a keyword for your topic in one of the general Internet search
engines Either of these are correct!!!
0 c. Consulting an encyclopedia
0 d. Examining a chronology
12. An unabridged dictionary:
0 a. Contains all of the most common words in a language
0 b. Contains only the words appropriate to a specific field
0 c. Contains all the officially recognized words in a language
0 d. Contains only alternate meanings of words
13. Thesauri list:
0 a. Word homonyms
0 b. Word synonyms
0 c. Etymologies
0 d. How a word has been used through the centuries
14. Three major Boolean operators are:
0 a. and, or, not
0 b. If, When, Then
0 c. AND, OR, NOT
0 d. +, /, -
15. The purpose of copyright law is:
0 a. To encourage the development of knowledge through limited rights for
authors, artists, and inventors
0 b. To provide legal protection of human rights
0 c. To make sure each copy of a work is paid for in full
0 d. To prescribe the proper method for citing and crediting sources
16. A main disadvantage of Internet searching for research is:
0 a. Many sources are unreliable
0 b. Search engines do not allow for complex search queries
0 c. Web sites have no cross references to other documents
0 d. You cannot use truncation
17. Which of the following is not an essential component of evaluating Web resources?
0 a. Timeliness
0 b. Accuracy
0 c. Format
0 d. Reliability
18. You are writing a research paper on the war in Iraq and need to narrow down your topic. Which of the following subjects is most narrowed down?
0 a. The findings in a report by General Taguba about prisoner abuse that
took place from October to December in 2003 at the Abu Ghraib U.S.
military prison in Iraq
0 b. The condition of the prisoners who are being held in Guantanamo Bay
0 c. Music, poetry, and other cultural expressions that have been generated
In response to the war in Iraq
0 d. The point of view of young people regarding the war in Iraq and how
this may affect the next presidential election
19. You are researching films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. You are not interested in reading about his earlier films, “Champagne” and “Blackmail.” Which of the following would be the most efficient keyword search for researching this topic?
0 a. Alfred AND Hitchcock NOT Champagne
0 b. Alfred Hitchcock WITHOUT Champagne OR Blackmail
0 c. Alfred Hitchcock AND (Vertigo NOT Champagne)
0 d. Alfred Hitchcock NOT (Blackmail OR Champagne)
PART III
Indicate whether each statement is True or False.
1. Library catalogs (OPACs) provide immediate and direct access to articles
inside periodicals.
True ( ) False ( X )
2. The APA Style requires the use of both in-text citations and References for most types of sources.
True ( X ) False ( )
3. The Wikipedia is an indisputable source of reliable information.
True ( ) False ( X )
4. Articles in trade magazines are generally peer-reviewed.
True ( ) False ( X )
5. The number of times a Web site has been visited is a good measure of its
authoritativeness.
True ( ) False ( X )
