Unit 1: Literature Review Techniques and Tools - Practice Quiz

1 What is the main purpose of conducting a literature review?

2 Which of the following is typically the first step in the literature search process?

3 What are keywords used for in a literature search?

4 Which of the following is considered a primary source in research?

5 Which tool helps manage and organize references and citations?

6 What does a Boolean operator such as AND do in a database search?

7 Which Boolean operator is used to broaden a search by including either term?

8 What is a peer-reviewed article?

9 Which of the following is an example of an academic search database?

10 Why is it important to record the sources you find during a literature search?

11 What is meant by a research gap?

12 Which of the following is a secondary source?

13 What does the Boolean operator NOT do in a search?

14 What is the benefit of setting inclusion and exclusion criteria in a literature search?

15 What is an abstract in a research article?

16 Which symbol is commonly used as a wildcard/truncation to find word variations (e.g., educat* for educate, education)?

17 Why should a literature review use recent sources where possible?

18 What does critically evaluating a source involve?

19 Which of the following best describes synthesizing literature?

20 What is the final typical step after searching and evaluating literature?

21 A researcher wants to begin a literature review on "machine learning in medical diagnosis." What is the most appropriate first step in the systematic search procedure?

22 A student retrieves 5000 articles using a single broad keyword. Which technique would best narrow the results to relevant studies?

23 In a Boolean search, the query education AND technology NOT primary will return documents that:

24 A researcher finds a highly relevant paper and then examines its reference list to locate earlier related works. This technique is called:

25 Which of the following sources is generally considered the most credible for an academic literature review?

26 A student uses the search term comput* in a database. What is the purpose of the asterisk (*)?

27 When two reviewers independently screen articles for inclusion, disagreements between them are best resolved by:

28 A reference management tool such as Zotero or Mendeley is most useful during the literature review for:

29 During screening, a researcher removes duplicate records appearing across multiple databases. This step primarily helps to:

30 A literature review that critically evaluates and synthesizes findings, rather than merely listing studies one by one, is best described as:

31 Which combination of Boolean operators would retrieve the broadest set of results?

32 A researcher notes that most retrieved studies were published before 2005. To ensure the review reflects current knowledge, the researcher should:

33 The PRISMA flow diagram is commonly used in a systematic review to document:

34 A student wants to search for the exact phrase "climate change adaptation" in a database. The best approach is to:

35 Which of the following is a valid reason to include grey literature (theses, reports, conference papers) in a review?

36 A researcher applies inclusion criteria requiring English-language, peer-reviewed studies from 2015–2025. These criteria primarily serve to:

37 Identifying gaps in existing research is an important outcome of a literature review because it:

38 A researcher searches only one database and misses several key studies. The most likely lesson is that:

39 Reading only the abstract of an article during initial screening is appropriate because it:

40 Which sequence correctly represents the general procedure of a literature search and review?

41 A researcher conducting a systematic review finds that two databases return overlapping but non-identical result sets for the same Boolean query. Which action best preserves methodological rigor before screening?

42 During a search you notice recall is high but precision is very low, returning thousands of irrelevant hits. Which refinement most directly improves precision without arbitrarily discarding relevant studies?

43 A reviewer computes inter-rater agreement for title/abstract screening and obtains Cohen's . What is the most appropriate interpretation and next step?

44 A search strategy uses the string (child* OR pediatric) AND (obesity NOT surgery). Why might the NOT surgery operator introduce bias into the review?

45 You must justify the choice between a narrative review and a systematic review for a heterogeneous, emerging field with few controlled studies. Which reasoning best supports a narrative (or scoping) approach?

46 A PRISMA flow diagram reports 1,200 records identified, 300 duplicates removed, 900 screened, 120 full-texts assessed, and 45 included. If 30 full-texts were excluded for wrong outcome and 45 for wrong population, what internal inconsistency exists?

47 When documenting a reproducible search, why is recording the exact date of each database search considered methodologically essential?

48 A reviewer relies solely on citation chaining (backward and forward) without a database search. What is the principal methodological weakness of this approach?

49 In formulating a searchable question using the PICO framework, a student defines P, I, and O but omits C (Comparator) for an intervention question. What is the most defensible justification?

50 A researcher restricts a search to English-language articles indexed in one database to save time. Which combined threat to validity is most directly introduced?

51 You want to synthesize findings across studies reporting different effect measures (odds ratios and risk ratios) for a common outcome. What is the correct first step before any pooling?

52 A search yields high sensitivity but you must screen 5,000 abstracts with limited time. Which strategy legitimately reduces workload while controlling the risk of missing eligible studies?

53 Why is searching grey literature (theses, reports, conference proceedings) particularly important for mitigating publication bias in a review?

54 A reviewer maps their concepts to database controlled vocabulary (e.g., MeSH) but omits free-text keyword variants. What is the most likely consequence?

55 Two reviewers disagree on including a study. The protocol specifies consensus, then adjudication by a third reviewer. Why is this pre-specified process superior to resolving disputes ad hoc?

56 During data extraction you find a primary study that reports the same cohort as an earlier included paper with partially overlapping outcomes. How should this be handled to avoid double-counting?

57 A student registers a review protocol on PROSPERO before starting. Which specific methodological benefit does prospective registration most directly provide?

58 A search string performs well in one database but returns near-zero results when copied verbatim into another. What is the most probable cause?

59 When appraising the risk of bias across included studies, why is it methodologically incorrect to exclude studies solely because they score 'high risk' on a quality tool?

60 You calculate that your search retrieved 8 of 10 known 'gold-standard' seed articles. What does this metric estimate, and what is the appropriate response?