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Answer Key
1. A
2. A
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1. Brianna is teaching her ethics class about misinformation. Which student statement
indicates that more teaching is needed?
A) “Misinformation is persuasive information.”
B) “Misinformation is false information.”
C) “Misinformation is inaccurate information.”
D) “Misinformation is misleading information.”
2. Which of the following is the best example of common knowledge?
A) There are 365 days in a year.
B) Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.
C) Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns.
D) People with an internal locus of control are less likely to be overweight.
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3. Emma is researching Internet censorship for a speech in her public policy course. Which
of the following online resources would be the most helpful?
A) a historical document from loc.gov (Library of Congress)
B) a clinical research study from clinicaltrials.gov
C) an academic essay from JSTOR
D) a dataset from data.gov
4. Which of the following sources would be the most appropriate to use for a speech about
smoking cessation?
A) a primary source from the Library of Congress
B) an interview with a professor of philosophy
C) a clinical research study from the Mayo Clinic
D) an article from the Wall Street Journal
5. Mason is researching renewable energy for his speech class. Which of the following
online resources would be the most helpful?
A) a historical document from loc.gov (Library of Congress)
B) a provocative quote from a blog
C) a dataset from data.gov
D) a clinical research study from clinicaltrials.gov
6. Luciana is researching the lasting impact of the Manhattan Project for a speech she is
giving to the New York Historical Society. Which of the following online resources would be
the most helpful?
A) a clinical research study from clinicaltrials.gov
B) a historical document from loc.gov (Library of Congress)
C) a dataset from data.gov
D) a recent study from JSTOR
7. Which of the following online resources would most likely be the most reliable?
A) a public forum
B) a Reddit discussion
C) a newspaper article
D) a Wikipedia page
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8. Wilson is researching the use of animal testing in the medical industry for a speech in his
public policy class. Which of the following online resources would be the most helpful?
A) a historical document from loc.gov (Library of Congress)
B) a recent study from JSTOR
C) a provocative quote from a blog
D) an article from Snopes.com
9. Hala is researching the limitations of the Family Medical Leave Act to use in a speech to
garner support for mandatory maternity and paternity leave. Which of the following online
resources would be the most helpful?
A) a recorded interview with a prominent politician discussing the current act
B) an anonymously written online article arguing against federal regulations
C) a blog written by a man who took paternity leave last year
D) an article from an online parenting site with a .co.uk URL address
10. Halim is researching the benefits of a vegan diet for a speech in his nutrition class.
Which of the following online resources would be the most helpful?
A) a health survey completed by college students who report being vegan
B) a recent article found on JSTOR titled “Veganism: A New Model for Health”
C) a BuzzFeed list about the top benefits of eating vegan
D) a blog written by a woman who converted to a vegan diet
11. When doing research for a speech, which of the following is required in order to avoid
passing on incorrect or false information?
A) an impartial attitude
B) critical investigation
C) a strong opinion
D) professional assistance
12. Nelson is preparing a speech about the importance of sleep. Which of the following
statements from his speech is considered common knowledge and therefore does not require that
a source be cited?
A) “More than 50 million Americans are estimated to have a sleep disorder.”
B) “Sleep is a required physiological process in humans.”
C) “Insufficient sleep is associated with increased risk for heart disease.”
D) “Sleep is linked to learning and memory formation.”
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13. Taylor is researching teen drug and alcohol abuse for an antidrug campaign at school.
Which of the following online resources is the most likely to produce relevant information?
A) a clinical research study from clinicaltrials.gov
B) a historical document from loc.gov (Library of Congress)
C) an article from Snopes.com
D) a student-run podcast
14. Fatima is researching gender discrimination in politics for her public speaking course.
Which of the following online resources would be the LEAST helpful?
A) an essay from EBSCO Academic Search Complete
B) a clinical research study from clinicaltrials.gov
C) an academic article from Gale Academic OneFile
D) an academic essay from LexisNexis
15. Which of the following sources would be the most appropriate to use for a speech about
the Civil War?
A) the Mayo Clinic website
B) the Library of Congress
C) the journal Environmental Research
D) transcripts from a show on the History Channel
16. Which of the following sources would be the most appropriate to use for a speech about
the works of Socrates?
A) an article from the New England Journal of Medicine
B) an interview with a professor of philosophy
C) an article from the journal Environmental Research
D) an article from the Wall Street Journal
17. Which of the following sources would be the most appropriate to use for a speech about
global warming?
A) an article from the journal Environmental Research
B) a primary source from the Library of Congress
C) an article from the New England Journal of Medicine
D) an interview with a professor of philosophy
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18. Which of the following sources would be the most appropriate to use for a speech about
the role of the United States in today’s global economy?
A) an article from the New England Journal of Medicine
B) an article from the journal Environmental Research
C) an interview with a professor of philosophy
D) an article from the Wall Street Journal
19. Which of the following sources would probably be the most reliable?
A) an article from an academic journal
B) a blog post
C) an op-ed piece from a newspaper
D) a Wikipedia page
20. Which of the following statements will Gabriella most likely need to cite because it was
necessary to look up the fact?
A) Paris is the capital of France.
B) In 2015, about 9 percent of Americans had diabetes.
C) Babies cannot talk.
D) George Washington was the first president of the United States.
21. Speeches often make claims beyond the reach of common knowledge. What could you
do to make these speeches more credible to the audience?
A) Repeat the new information.
B) Research the topic, and cite sources.
C) Include phrases such as, “You may not know this, but … .”
D) Ensure the speech is free of grammatical errors.
22. When you move out of the preliminary research phase, you should take detailed notes
about your sources that indicate useful evidence and include
A) controversial evidence.
B) conflicting proof.
C) bibliographic information.
D) source location.
23. It is always recommended to research a topic if you are trying to _____ or persuade an
audience.
A) entertain
B) deceive
C) captivate
D) inform
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24. Speeches that provide information or include factual claims that can be proven or
disproven require
A) an informed audience.
B) basic research to confirm information.
C) citation of opposing views.
D) inclusion of common knowledge.
25. Common knowledge is best defined as information that
A) is factual.
B) is widely known.
C) requires critical investigation.
D) is related to humanities.
26. Sabrina’s speech includes a number of statements of fact, many of which are commonly
known. Which of the following facts likely warrant further research?
A) those that are about people who are currently alive
B) those that may not be known by very young children
C) those that report positive information
D) those that the audience may consider controversial
27. _____ are more trustworthy research resources than general Internet searches because
they primarily index articles that have gone through some kind of editing process.
A) Librarians
B) Blogs
C) Databases
D) Newspapers
28. The spreading of misinformation is typically
A) advised.
B) unintentional.
C) deliberate.
D) rare.
29. Powerful _____ incentives drive online search results.
A) social
B) political
C) economic
D) cultural
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30. Due to the expansion of _____, people are more at risk of becoming unintentionally
misinformed.
A) libraries
B) research interviewing
C) social media
D) digital researching
31. A journalist wants to research the claims of prominent public figures and assess whether
they are true or false. The best resource in this case is
A) Snopes.com.
B) Google.
C) FactCheck.org.
D) Wikipedia.
32. Which of the following statements will Dylan most likely need to cite because it was
necessary to look up the fact?
A) Over 8 million people live in New York City.
B) Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.
C) George Washington was the first president of the United States.
D) The Amazon River is located in South America.
33. Consider the following statements as potential statements in a speech. Which could be
considered controversial and, therefore, would warrant further investigation?
A) Gun control would prevent gun deaths.
B) Maya Angelou was a famous American poet.
C) The U.S. president can veto a bill passed by Congress.
D) Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States.
34. Nowadays, with their expertise concerning where to look for information, librarians are
thought of as
A) human search engines.
B) bibliographies.
C) help desks.
D) information scientists.
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35. Tim is a baker who is teaching a small group of people how to decorate a cake. Which of
the following resources would be the most appropriate for him to use?
A) Wikipedia
B) The Wall Street Journal
C) his own common knowledge
D) an interview with a baker
36. What does the term search bias describe?
A) how researchers start by looking for the answers they want to find
B) how general searches may return a variety of kinds of sources
C) how search engine companies alter the way user searches are conducted
D) how researchers seek information with a listed author and publication date and no
commercial sponsor
37. Which of the following students will need to be most concerned about source reliability?
A) Brayden, who is researching on the Internet
B) Gabriel, who is researching in the library
C) Kaylee, who is researching in academic journals
D) Bella, who is researching in magazine articles
38. The cultural expectation that a speech has been researched is based on common
A) trust.
B) law.
C) knowledge.
D) experience.
39. Which of the following speeches is most likely to be perceived as balanced and reliable?
A) one that includes professional interviews
B) one that includes statistics
C) one that cites many sources
D) one that cites common knowledge
40. Relying too much on _____ could lead a speaker to overlook important complexities and
details about a topic.
A) truth
B) critical investigation
C) misinformation
D) common knowledge
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41. A scholar submits an essay for publication to an academic journal, and it is then
evaluated by two or three other scholars in the same academic field. What is this process called?
A) common knowledge
B) peer review
C) debunking
D) credentialing
42. Consider the following statements as potential statements in a speech. Which statement
would best be supported with additional research and supporting information?
A) A fever is common with influenza.
B) Safety is important for children playing sports.
C) More censorship is needed on the Internet.
D) Netflix is a well-known video streaming service.
43. Which of the following statements, if included in a speech, should the speaker anticipate
the audience may view as controversial?
A) People with a mental health disorder are generally nonviolent.
B) Clinical depression is one example of a mental health disorder.
C) Federal law requires that insurance companies cover mental health.
D) Millions of Americans are affected by mental health disorders.
44. Which of the following statements requires that a source be cited?
A) The moon revolves around the earth.
B) The golden retriever is a breed of dog.
C) The freezing point of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
D) President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act in 1830.
45. Bad speeches are often a consequence of
A) inexperience.
B) controversial topics.
C) procrastination.
D) uninformed audience members.
46. What is one process that complicates how search engines filter information?
A) fact checking
B) source citations
C) search bias
D) vetting
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47. Eighteenth-century philosopher Thomas Reid argued that humans are gullible because
we are fundamentally
A) deceitful.
B) trustful.
C) social.
D) foolish.
48. Which of the following pieces of information about a source is NOT considered basic
bibliographic information?
A) article title
B) database searched
C) author names
D) date of publication
49. The biggest challenge for researching a speech is picking a topic that is
A) a manageable size.
B) uncontroversial.
C) straightforward.
D) uncommon.
50. Silas is trying to determine whether he should add a citation in his speech to support the
statement that “Sloths sleep up to twenty hours each day.” What factor suggests he should?
A) Most of his friends already knew this information.
B) He had to check online sources to locate this data.
C) He was unable to find this information online.
D) This information was shared on a popular TV program.
51. Julie is a student giving a speech about the life cycle of a killer whale. Which of the
following resources would be the most appropriate for her to use?
A) National Geographic
B) Wikipedia
C) The Wall Street Journal
D) her own common knowledge
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52. During preliminary research on a topic, you run across one source that states about
115,000 Americans are on the waiting list for organ transplantation. This information is included
on a site titled “150 Obscure Facts.” What is your best next step?
A) Research this statistic on other trusted sites, such as a government health site.
B) Use the information, but do not include a citation because there isn’t one on the site.
C) Disregard the information because a source was not cited on the website.
D) Use the information, and cite the 150 Obscure Facts website.
53. In which of the following scenarios would you need to complete in-depth research before
giving a speech?
A) when presenting information that is controversial
B) when giving a toast at a wedding
C) when accepting an award
D) when speaking to large groups
54. Google or Wikipedia can be appropriate tools to use when you
A) are fact-checking.
B) have limited time.
C) are developing a research plan.
D) know a lot about the topic.
55. When conducting an interview, you should ask questions that you
A) can find online.
B) cannot answer by other means.
C) think you know the answer to.
D) think are controversial.
56. When reviewing articles on a topic during preliminary research, an efficient way to
identify other possible related sources is to review and note the article’s reference citations.
A) True
B) False
57. Common knowledge refers to undisputable facts.
A) True
B) False
58. Communication is a cooperative process that is generally intentional and earnest.
A) True
B) False
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59. In general, the three basic ways speakers research speeches are going to the library,
conducting interviews, and researching on the Internet.
A) True
B) False
60. The constant availability of information makes us prone to accept what we read or hear
at face value.
A) True
B) False
61. You should always research commonly known statements of fact to verify their truth.
A) True
B) False
62. Misinformation in speeches is often the result of carelessness or misguided research
instead of outright deceit.
A) True
B) False
63. In general, one can pack more research into a speech than one can deliver in a written
paper. A) True
B) False
64. Libraries, which are great places to gather information, have remained relatively
unchanged in the past ten years.
A) True
B) False
65. Sometimes a speaker can pass along misinformation by trusting unreliable Internet
sources.
A) True
B) False
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66. Doing research online using search engines can be very useful and is just as reliable as
using database sources.
A) True
B) False
67. When you conduct a research interview with an expert, you should ask him or her
questions that can verify your prior research.
A) True
B) False
68. Using a librarian as a resource is similar to using Google, although Google is better able
to filter the results.
A) True
B) False
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Answer Key
1. A
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