PACT PACT Research Skills 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which citation style is most commonly required in education and social science papers in the United States?
- MLA
- Chicago
- APA (Correct answer)
- Harvard
Correct answer: APA
APA (American Psychological Association) style is the standard citation format in education, psychology, and social sciences in the US.
Question 2: A thesis statement in a research paper should:
- Be placed only in the conclusion
- Present a broad topic without taking a position
- State a specific, arguable claim that the paper will support (Correct answer)
- List all the sources used in the paper
Correct answer: State a specific, arguable claim that the paper will support
A strong thesis makes a specific, debatable claim that guides the entire argument of the research paper.
Question 3: When paraphrasing a source, a student must:
- Use quotation marks around the paraphrased text
- Change a few words from the original sentence
- Restate the idea entirely in their own words and cite the source (Correct answer)
- Only cite if the paraphrase is longer than one sentence
Correct answer: Restate the idea entirely in their own words and cite the source
True paraphrasing requires a complete restatement in your own language and sentence structure, plus a citation acknowledging the original source.
Question 4: Which Boolean operator narrows a database search by requiring both terms to appear in results?
- OR
- NOT
- AND (Correct answer)
- NEAR
Correct answer: AND
The Boolean operator AND requires both search terms to be present, narrowing results to sources that address both concepts.
Question 5: A bibliography and a works cited page differ in that a bibliography:
- Only lists sources that were directly quoted
- Includes all sources consulted, even those not cited in the text (Correct answer)
- Is formatted differently only in APA style
- Does not need to include publication dates
Correct answer: Includes all sources consulted, even those not cited in the text
A bibliography lists every source consulted during research, while a works cited page lists only sources actually referenced in the text.
Question 6: What is the main purpose of an annotated bibliography?
- To replace the reference list entirely
- To provide a brief summary and evaluation of each listed source (Correct answer)
- To list sources alphabetically without additional commentary
- To track the dates each source was accessed online
Correct answer: To provide a brief summary and evaluation of each listed source
An annotated bibliography includes a short description and critical assessment of each source, helping readers understand its relevance and quality.
PACT PACT Research Skills 2
Which citation style is most commonly required in education and social science papers in the United States?