CBEST Reading: Information Retrieval 3

Question 1

A reader encounters a passage followed by the notation '[ibid., p. 23].' What does 'ibid.' indicate?

Accepted Answer

The citation refers to the same source as the one immediately preceding it

Answer

The source is a foreign-language text

Answer

The citation is from an anonymous author

Answer

The page number is approximate

Question 2

A textbook's appendix would MOST likely contain which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Supplementary charts, data tables, or reference material

Answer

A summary of each chapter

Answer

Definitions of key vocabulary terms

Answer

A list of chapter titles and page numbers

Question 3

Which of the following search strategies would return the MOST specific results in an online database?

Accepted Answer

Enclosing an exact phrase in quotation marks

Answer

Searching a single broad keyword

Answer

Using Boolean operator OR between two terms

Answer

Truncating a keyword with an asterisk

Question 4

A researcher is comparing two articles on the same topic. Article A was written by a professor and published in an academic journal; Article B was published on a personal blog. What is the PRIMARY reason to prefer Article A?

Accepted Answer

Academic journals use peer review to verify accuracy and credibility

Answer

Academic journals are always longer than blogs

Answer

Academic journals are free to access, while blogs cost money

Answer

Blog posts are written for general audiences rather than researchers

Question 5

In a card catalog or digital library catalog, a 'subject heading' search is BEST used when:

Accepted Answer

You want to find books on a general topic without knowing specific titles

Answer

You know the exact title of a book you need

Answer

You want all works by a particular author

Answer

You are searching for a periodical article

Question 6

A reader sees the abbreviation 'et al.' in a citation. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

There are additional authors beyond those named

Answer

The source has no known author

Answer

The source was published in a foreign country

Answer

The edition of the work is unknown

Question 7

When previewing a nonfiction article to determine its main topic before reading in full, which element should a reader examine FIRST?

Accepted Answer

The title, headings, and subheadings

Answer

The footnotes at the bottom of the page

Answer

The bibliography at the end

Answer

The author's biographical note