A) choose one search engine and stick with it.
B) use web directories, online databases, and metasearch engines.
C) use long search phrases rather than short ones or single terms.
D) avoid Boolean operators.
59) Intellectual property includes patents, copyrighted materials, trade secrets, and
_____________
A) blogs.
B) internet domain names.
C) company website code.
D) social media.
60) Which of these documents would not usually qualify as primary research?
A) A sales report from a company rep
B) The most recent issue of a trade magazine in your industry
C) Correspondence with a particular customer
D) Your company’s latest balance sheet
61) Survey results are considered reliable when ______________
A) similar results would be obtained if the survey were repeated.
B) a representative group of people has been surveyed.
C) the research measures what it was intended to measure.
D) the phrasing of the questions is unbiased.
62) A guideline to help you obtain valid and reliable survey results is ______________
A) don’t expect people to give you more than 10 or 15 minutes of their time.
B) give people plenty of time to research their answers.
C) ask all open ended questions because people like to talk about things they know.
D) ask people about specific dates in the past.
63) In evaluating material you have gathered for a report ______________
A) you can assume that any information taken from a web page will be credible and
reliable.
B) you should throw out any information whose source is an organization that might be
biased.
C) you should check the material for currency.
D) all of the above.
64) When taking notes on your research material ______________
A) bookmark, download, or print out pages from library databases.
B) avoid trying to use computer programs for this task, as they get in the way more than
they help.
C) you do not need to include subject headings.
D) avoid highlighting or marking up your notes because they may be difficult to read
later.
65) To paraphrase effectively ______________
A) avoid using any business language or jargon.
B) double-check your version against the original to make sure that you haven’t altered
the meaning.
C) make sure your version is the same length as or longer than the original.
D) do all of the above.
66) What would be the median for the following set of monthly salaries: $1200, $1200,
$1300, $1500, $1700, $2000, $2800?
A) $1200
B) $1500
C) $1671.43
D) $1700
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67) In a particular set of figures or data, the number that occurs most often is called the
______________
A) mean.
B) median.
C) mode.
D) correlation.
68) If you have certain biases that influence your report conclusion,
____________________
A) make sure you keep them to yourself; otherwise, you might be negatively labeled.
B) do additional research so you can eliminate those biases.
C) suggest actions for the company to take based on your biases.
D) you are ethically obligated to inform the audience.
69) Conclusions differ from recommendations in that conclusions ______________
A) are opinions or interpretations.
B) are objective.
C) are acceptable to readers.
D) suggest what ought to be done about the facts.
70) The recommendations made in a report should be ______________
A) the same as the conclusions.
B) opinions or interpretations.
C) what the audience wants to hear.
D) practical and acceptable to the people that have to make them work.
71) A(n) __________ report is easier to organize than an analytical report because it
simply provides nothing but facts.
72) Informational reports use a(n) __________ organization.
73) __________ identify individual webpages that contain a specific work or phrase
you’ve asked for.
74) __________ protection is initiated the moment the expression is put into fixed form.
75) In the __________, reports are based on the accumulation of facts and figures
developed around a list of reasons that add up to the main point.
76) Using the __________ approach is useful when you need to use a number of criteria
to decide which option to select from two or more possibilities.
77) Whereas __________ reports focus on facts, __________ reports include
interpretation, conclusions, and recommendations.
78) A common monitor/control report is the __________, used to establish expectations
and guidelines to direct future action.
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79) All __________ reports provide feedback on a wide variety of an organization’s
functions including, sales, inventory, expenses, shipments, and so on.
80) A(n) __________ report is an internal proposal used to explore the ramifications of a
decision that is about to be made.
81) Breaking down a problem into a series of specific questions is called __________.
82) The statement of __________ explains why you are preparing the report and what
you plan to deliver in the report.
83) An electronic __________ offers vast collections of computer-searchable
information.
84) When conducting an interview, you use __________ questions to get the interviewee
to offer an opinion and not just a yes-or-no answer.
85) __________ is expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words.
86) Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them proper credit is
__________.
87) A(n) __________ is a logical interpretation of the facts and other information in your
report.
88) A(n) __________ suggests what ought to be done about the facts.
89) Briefly explain the primary function of a statement of purpose; then indicate the most
useful way to phrase one.
90) You have been asked to help a company find ways to reduce the amount it spends on
employee health and dental benefits. Write a purpose statement for the report that you
will produce.
91) List three common types of monitor/control reports.
92) Provide at least five examples of topical organization strategies for business reports.
93) What is the primary difference between a feasibility report and a justification report?
94) Give three reasons that writing analytical reports presents a greater challenge than
writing informational reports.
95) Briefly explain problem factoring.
96) List the three most common strategies for structuring analytical reports.
97) Describe the basic function of internal proposals.
98) Describe the ways that analytical and informational reports differ.
99) Define “work plan” and briefly describe the elements it often contains.
100) Describe several benefits and one potential drawback of organizing business reports
using the direct approach.
101) Explain the purpose of a “business plan” and briefly describe the elements it should
contain.
102) Explain the three basic categories of analytical business reports and provide at least
one example of each type.
103) List four questions you should ask yourself when you are trying to verify the quality
of the sources you use.
104) Describe the differences between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing
information.
105) What three pieces of advice would you give to a colleague who is organizing the
company website?