Author Question: Which of the following would help you clearly determine whether a source is primary or secondary? ... (Read 88 times)

shofmannx20 · **on:** Jul 8, 2018

Which of the following would help you clearly determine whether a source is primary or secondary?

a. Abstract of the article
b. Author's name and affiliation
c. List of references
d. Title of the article

Question 2

In conducting a complex search, the researcher's main goal is to:

a. create as long a list of possible sources as possible.
b. establish a baseline of how many studies are available on the topic.
c. find out whether the topic is too difficult for study.
d. focus the literature review.

xthemafja · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 8, 2018

Answer to Question 1

ANS: A
A primary source is desirable, and abstracts provide additional information that can help determine whether a source is primary or secondary.
The author's name and affiliation do not let you know what kind of source it is.
The list of references does not provide the reviewer with any evidence to determine if the source is secondary or primary.
The title of an article may or may not tell you whether it is a secondary source.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D
Combining the concepts used in the study into one search will reveal sources that also used a similar combination of concepts, instead of all studies that used as few as one of them.
The goal of the researcher would not be to obtain a lengthy list, but a useful one.
The researcher would not be establishing a baseline, but creating a relevant literature review.
A literature review may ultimately lead the researcher to this conclusion, but that is not the goal of the search. The correct answer is focus the literature review. A review of literature is introduced with a description of the topic of interest and how the review is focused.