Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 3 Evaluating Sources and Reviewing Literature, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
A community organization publishes a report advocating for a local policy. Its advocacy may affect which evidence it includes, but that alone does not mean the report is useless. Is this approach to evaluating the source consistent with the material?
True
False
A well-supported study examines adults in one country, but a researcher is asking about teenagers in another country. Which core source-evaluation question most directly identifies this mismatch?
Credibility
Relevance
Authority
Bias and purpose
What is the established term for checking an unfamiliar online source by investigating it through other sources rather than judging it only by its own presentation?
When findings from several studies point in a similar direction, a literature review identifies this pattern as .
A literature review that merely summarizes each study separately, without comparing studies or explaining how their findings fit together, is doing all the work of synthesis. Is this statement true or false?
True
False
A reviewer records sources in rows and shared themes in columns. What is a useful purpose of this synthesis matrix?
It proves that every included study used reliable methods.
It replaces the need to assess how sources relate to the topic.
It can reveal patterns and disagreements across shared themes or features.
It determines which findings should be treated as correct.
What concise research term describes an important question, population, setting, method, or time period that existing research has not adequately addressed?
A company claims that its new study-skills app improves grades. Which actions would help evaluate the claim rather than relying on the company's presentation alone? Select all that apply.
Check whether the company explains how the study was conducted.
Look for whether the study's results are available.
Check whether independent researchers find similar effects.
Treat the company's financial interest as proof that the reported result is false.
A first search finds no studies on a topic. Which steps would help determine whether this apparent gap is genuine? Select all that apply.
Search more than one relevant database or source collection.
Try alternative search terms.
Follow references and citations related to the topic.
Treat no results from one search as sufficient proof that no research exists.
A researcher is evaluating a source created by someone with substantial lived experience of the community being studied. Which principle should guide the researcher's judgment of the source's authority?
Authority is determined only by the source's publisher.
Authority is contextual: relevant expertise or experience depends on the question.
A person's lived experience establishes expertise on every related claim.
A source's authority makes its relevance to the question unnecessary.
In a literature review, weaknesses or boundaries that affect how confidently findings can be applied are called .
A study makes a strong conclusion. Which evaluation question most directly tests the credibility of that conclusion?
Whether the source addresses the exact population and time period in the research question.
Whether the study's methods and data support its conclusions.
Whether the source's creator has relevant professional or community experience.
Whether the source is intended to persuade a particular audience.
Several studies examine whether short classroom movement breaks improve students' attention. Studies using teacher observations report improvement, while studies using standardized attention tests show mixed results. How should a literature review synthesize this pattern, and what factors should it consider when interpreting the differences?
Every research gap identified in the literature is automatically worth pursuing, regardless of its importance or whether it can be investigated responsibly. Is this statement true or false?
True
False
A researcher finds a carefully conducted study of adults in another country but needs evidence about teenagers in their own region. Which evaluation question is most directly raised by this mismatch?
The source's authority
The source's relevance
The source's credibility
The source's purpose or bias
A researcher studying how a community experiences a local service considers testimony from people who use it. Which judgment about authority is best supported?
Lived experience never counts when judging authority.
A person's authority is established only by the publisher's reputation.
Whether the experience is relevant depends on the question and claim being assessed.
Any personal experience establishes authority on all related topics.
A company says its study shows that its product improves learning. What is the strongest way to evaluate the claim?
Reject the webpage because any commercial interest makes its claims false.
Accept the claim because the company conducted the study itself.
Ignore the financial interest if the webpage looks professional.
Consider the company's interest, inspect the methods and evidence, and compare the claim with independent findings.
A researcher encounters an unfamiliar website making an important claim. Which action best applies lateral reading?
Search for independent information about the author or organization and compare its claims with other sources.
Judge whether the page appears professional and rely on its own description of its expertise.
Read only the webpage's introduction and decide whether its tone seems balanced.
Use the source only if it calls itself peer reviewed.
What term describes research findings that point in a similar direction?
What is the name of the table that places sources in rows and key themes or features in columns to reveal patterns across research?