Q&A Hero

Q: If a short proposal is directed toward an audience outside your organization, use a letter format. A) True B) False

Q: Communicating with people in other cultures often calls for more formality. A) True B) False

Q: Evidence is the support for the thinking behind your conclusion. A) True B) False

Q: Unsolicited proposals offer less flexibility than solicited proposals since recipients are expecting to receive them. A) True B) False

Q: Trends analysis is common in business. A) True B) False

Q: The mode is the number that occurs most often in a set of figures. A) True B) False

Q: If sales for the first six months of the year were $24,000, $20,000, $23,000, $20,000, $19,000, and $21,000, the mean for the six months would be $20,000. A) True B) False

Q: According to the fair-use doctrine, you can use other people's work only as long as you do not unfairly prevent them from benefiting as a result. A) True B) False

Q: Even if you paraphrase material, it's best to give credit to the source you obtained the original information from. A) True B) False

Q: A good paraphrase should be the same length as or slightly longer than the original passage. A) True B) False

Q: Directories are considered invaluable for marketers, job seekers, and others who need to establish a prospect list. A) True B) False

Q: Making notes about research materials is one area where computers aren't very helpful. A) True B) False

Q: A focus group is a group of employees working on a very specific project. A) True B) False

Q: When conducting an interview, you should ask both open-ended and closed-ended questions. A) True B) False

Q: The online surveys you see on many websites today potentially suffer from sampling bias. A) True B) False

Q: A survey is considered valid if it measures what it is intended to measure. A) True B) False

Q: Start with primary research for your project; it will give you a grounding in the area, and it can save considerable time and money for the overall assignment. A) True B) False

Q: Observation, surveys, and interviews are all types of primary research. A) True B) False

Q: You can improve your database search results by using Boolean operators. A) True B) False

Q: To conduct an effective database search on the Web, you should use multiple search engines. A) True B) False

Q: When using the internet to conduct research, you can be reasonably sure that any information you find will be accurate. A) True B) False

Q: Secondary research consists of information that others have gathered (and published, in many cases). A) True B) False

Q: Very few reports require a work plan. A) True B) False

Q: The statement of purpose for a report is always presented as a question. A) True B) False

Q: Use problem factoring to divide a complex problem into more manageable pieces. A) True B) False

Q: When writing informational reports, it's important to begin by developing a problem statement. A) True B) False

Q: Solicited proposals spend a great deal of time explaining why the client should take action. A) True B) False

Q: When you speculate on the cause of a problem, you"re forming a hypothesis. A) True B) False

Q: A justification report is an internal report designed to persuade top management to approve a proposed investment or project. A) True B) False

Q: Analytical reports are used to assess opportunities, to solve problems, and to support decisions. A) True B) False

Q: A summary takes a side in an issue and offers support for that side. A) True B) False

Q: Interim progress reports to clients are rarely needed. A) True B) False

Q: Position papers spell out lasting guidelines on company policies and procedures. A) True B) False

Q: A memo summarizing an employee's trip to a trade show would be an example of a personal activity report. A) True B) False

Q: The most useful way to phrase your purpose statement is to begin with an infinitive phrase (to plus a verb), which helps pin down your general goal (e.g., to inform, to identify, to analyze). A) True B) False

Q: A "statement of purpose" lists the reason(s) for conducting the research project. A) True B) False

Q: Analytical reports are primarily intended to educate readers. A) True B) False

Q: Business reports help companies make decisions and solve problems. A) True B) False

Q: What three pieces of advice would you give to a colleague who is organizing the company website?

Q: Describe the differences between quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing information.

Q: List four questions you should ask yourself when you are trying to verify the quality of the sources you use.

Q: Explain the three basic categories of analytical business reports and provide at least one example of each type.

Q: Explain the purpose of a "business plan" and briefly describe the elements it should contain.

Q: Describe several benefits and one potential drawback of organizing business reports using the direct approach.

Q: Define "work plan" and briefly describe the elements it often contains.

Q: Describe the ways that analytical and informational reports differ.

Q: Describe the basic function of internal proposals.

Q: List the three most common strategies for structuring analytical reports.

Q: Briefly explain problem factoring.

Q: Give three reasons that writing analytical reports presents a greater challenge than writing informational reports.

Q: What is the primary difference between a feasibility report and a justification report?

Q: Provide at least five examples of topical organization strategies for business reports.

Q: List three common types of monitor/control reports.

Q: 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.

Q: Briefly explain the primary function of a statement of purpose; then indicate the most useful way to phrase one.

Q: A(n) __________ suggests what ought to be done about the facts.

Q: A(n) __________ is a logical interpretation of the facts and other information in your report.

Q: Using someone else's words or ideas without giving them proper credit is __________.

Q: __________ is expressing someone else's ideas in your own words.

Q: When conducting an interview, you use __________ questions to get the interviewee to offer an opinion and not just a yes-or-no answer.

Q: An electronic __________ offers vast collections of computer-searchable information.

Q: The statement of __________ explains why you are preparing the report and what you plan to deliver in the report.

Q: Breaking down a problem into a series of specific questions is called __________.

Q: A(n) __________ report is an internal proposal used to explore the ramifications of a decision that is about to be made.

Q: All __________ reports provide feedback on a wide variety of an organization's functions including, sales, inventory, expenses, shipments, and so on.

Q: A common monitor/control report is the __________, used to establish expectations and guidelines to direct future action.

Q: Whereas __________ reports focus on facts, __________ reports include interpretation, conclusions, and recommendations.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: __________ protection is initiated the moment the expression is put into fixed form.

Q: __________ identify individual webpages that contain a specific work or phrase you"ve asked for.

Q: Informational reports use a(n) __________ organization.

Q: A(n) __________ report is easier to organize than an analytical report because it simply provides nothing but facts.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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.

Q: 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

Q: 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.

Q: 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.