MLS Research Methods and Data Literacy 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which bibliometric law describes the relationship between the frequency of authors' publications and the number of authors producing that output?
- Zipf's Law
- Bradford's Law
- Lotka's Law (Correct answer)
- Moore's Law
Correct answer: Lotka's Law
Lotka's Law states that the number of authors making n contributions is approximately 1/n² of those making one contribution.
Question 2: In a library assessment survey, a Likert scale item asking 'The library staff is helpful' followed immediately by 'The library staff is knowledgeable' is an example of what measurement issue?
- Social desirability bias
- Halo effect / order effect (Correct answer)
- Non-response bias
- Acquiescence bias
Correct answer: Halo effect / order effect
Placing similar positive items together can cause respondents' rating of the first item to color their rating of the second, known as halo or order effect.
Question 3: What is the key difference between a systematic review and a traditional literature review?
- Systematic reviews use only quantitative studies
- Systematic reviews follow explicit, reproducible protocols to minimize bias (Correct answer)
- Traditional reviews are peer-reviewed; systematic reviews are not
- Systematic reviews are shorter and less comprehensive
Correct answer: Systematic reviews follow explicit, reproducible protocols to minimize bias
A systematic review uses a predefined, transparent protocol—including explicit search strategies and inclusion/exclusion criteria—to reduce selection bias.
Question 4: A library director wants to assess whether a new instruction program improved student research skills using pre- and post-tests with the same group. Which design does this represent?
- Between-subjects experimental design
- One-group pretest-posttest design (Correct answer)
- Randomized controlled trial
- Case-control study
Correct answer: One-group pretest-posttest design
A one-group pretest-posttest design measures the same participants before and after an intervention but lacks a control group for comparison.
Question 5: In data management planning, what does a 'data dictionary' typically document?
- A list of approved database vendors
- The definition, format, and allowable values of each variable in a dataset (Correct answer)
- Policies for data destruction after a study ends
- Copyright terms for datasets
Correct answer: The definition, format, and allowable values of each variable in a dataset
A data dictionary provides metadata about each variable—its name, data type, allowed values, and description—to ensure consistent interpretation.
Question 6: Which measure of central tendency is most resistant to extreme outliers in a dataset of library circulation counts?
- Mean
- Mode
- Median (Correct answer)
- Standard deviation
Correct answer: Median
The median is the middle value and is not affected by extreme high or low values, making it robust to outliers.
MLS Research Methods and Data Literacy 2
Which bibliometric law describes the relationship between the frequency of authors' publications and the number of authors producing that output?