Unit 10: Research Policy and Dissertation Guidelines - Practice Quiz

1 What is the primary purpose of a university's research policy?

2 What is plagiarism in the context of academic research?

3 Which document typically outlines the formatting requirements for a dissertation?

4 What is the role of a research supervisor in a dissertation?

5 What does research ethics primarily concern?

6 Why is it important to cite sources in a dissertation?

7 What is informed consent in research involving human participants?

8 What is typically required before conducting research involving human subjects?

9 What does the term 'academic integrity' refer to?

10 What is a common tool used to detect plagiarism in dissertations?

11 What is the purpose of a dissertation submission deadline?

12 What does 'confidentiality' mean when handling research data?

13 What is intellectual property in the context of research?

14 Which section of a dissertation usually presents the main findings of the study?

15 What is a common consequence of committing plagiarism in a dissertation?

16 What does 'referencing style' refer to in a dissertation?

17 Why should a student read the university's research policy before starting a dissertation?

18 What is the typical purpose of a dissertation abstract?

19 What does data fabrication in research mean?

20 Who usually evaluates or examines a completed dissertation?

21 A student copies three paragraphs from a published paper into their dissertation and adds a citation at the end of the section but uses no quotation marks. Under most university research integrity policies, this is best classified as:

22 A university sets a plagiarism similarity threshold of . A student's report shows , but comes from correctly quoted and cited references and matched bibliography entries. What is the most appropriate action?

23 A student wants to survey hospital patients about their treatment experiences. Before collecting any data, which step is required by most university research policies?

24 A supervisor asks to be listed as first author on a paper based on the student's dissertation, though the student conducted all the work and writing. According to typical authorship policies, this is:

25 A dissertation guideline specifies a word limit of words. Which submission length is within the acceptable range?

26 A student reuses a large section of text from their own previously submitted assignment in the new dissertation without disclosure. This is most accurately described as:

27 A researcher discovers that two participants withdrew consent midway through data collection. According to standard ethics policies, the researcher should:

28 A student's dissertation proposal is rejected because the research aim is too broad and lacks measurable objectives. The best corrective action aligned with dissertation expectations is to:

29 During data analysis, a student notices two outliers that weaken their hypothesis and quietly deletes them without any justification or record. This practice is best described as:

30 A university requires that all dissertation research data be retained for a minimum period after submission. The primary purpose of this data retention policy is to:

31 A student uses copyrighted figures from a journal article directly in their dissertation. To comply with intellectual property policies, the student should primarily:

32 A dissertation is due on a fixed date, and a student expects a delay due to illness. According to typical university policy, the correct step is to:

33 Two students working independently submit dissertations with large sections of identical wording. Investigation shows they shared and merged their drafts. This is classified as:

34 A student collects personal data from participants and stores it on an unencrypted personal laptop with participants' real names. Under data protection expectations, the main problem is:

35 A student's dissertation committee comments that the literature review merely summarizes sources one by one. To meet dissertation expectations, the student should:

36 A student receives funding from a company whose product they are evaluating in their dissertation. According to research integrity policies, the student must:

37 A student uses a generative AI tool to draft large portions of their dissertation without disclosure, where policy requires acknowledgment of AI assistance. This most likely constitutes:

38 A supervisor advises a student to change their methodology mid-study, but the student prefers the original plan. The most appropriate professional response is to:

39 A dissertation guideline states the referencing style must be consistent throughout. A student mixes APA in-text citations with numbered references. The examiner's concern reflects that:

40 During the viva/defense, a student is asked to justify their sampling method. This expectation reflects that a dissertation must demonstrate:

41 A doctoral candidate reuses three paragraphs verbatim from their own previously published conference paper in the dissertation without citation, assuming that reusing one's own work cannot constitute misconduct. Under most university research integrity policies, how is this best characterized?

42 A researcher collects survey data from human participants before the Institutional Review Board (IRB) grants approval, then submits the application retroactively. What is the most likely consequence under standard research ethics policy?

43 A student's dissertation contains an image similarity index of 18% from a plagiarism-detection tool, mostly from correctly cited quotations and standard methodology phrasing. How should this most appropriately be interpreted?

44 A supervisor insists on being listed as first author on a paper derived from a student's dissertation, despite contributing only funding and general oversight. Under authorship policies such as ICMJE criteria, this practice is best described as:

45 A candidate wants to include in an appendix a proprietary dataset obtained under a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) with an industry partner. What is the most policy-compliant course of action?

46 During analysis, a researcher discovers that removing two 'outlier' participants who contradict the hypothesis makes results significant at . Reporting only the trimmed analysis without disclosure most closely constitutes:

47 Two students independently submit dissertations with substantially identical literature review sections. Investigation shows they collaborated informally and shared drafts. Under academic integrity policy, this is most accurately termed:

48 A university requires all dissertations to be deposited in an open-access repository, but a candidate has a patent application pending on a described method. Which resolution best balances both policies?

49 A candidate uses a generative AI tool to draft substantial sections of the dissertation and presents the output as their own writing, in a program whose policy permits AI only for grammar checking. This is best classified as:

50 A researcher's data are stored solely on a personal laptop that is later stolen, with no backups, midway through a longitudinal study. Which university policy area was most directly neglected?

51 A committee member holds equity in a company that would benefit commercially from a dissertation's favorable findings. The most appropriate action under research policy is to:

52 A candidate paraphrases a source by changing a few words while retaining its sentence structure and cites it at the end of the paragraph. A reviewer flags this. The core problem is best described as:

53 A study involving anonymous online surveys of adults on innocuous shopping habits is submitted to the IRB. Which review category is most likely appropriate?

54 A dissertation cites 12 references that, upon audit, do not correspond to any real or existing publications. This most seriously constitutes:

55 A candidate submits the same dissertation research, with minor edits, for credit in two different degree programs at two universities. This practice is most accurately labeled:

56 After the defense, a candidate discovers a coding error that changes a secondary result but not the main conclusions. The dissertation is already deposited. The most ethically appropriate response is to:

57 A candidate obtains informed consent forms but stores them together with a spreadsheet linking participant names to their responses on an unencrypted shared drive. The primary policy breach concerns:

58 A funding agency mandates open data sharing, but the study involves sensitive interviews with vulnerable participants who consented only to confidential use. How should the researcher reconcile these expectations?

59 A student's supervisor leaves the university before the dissertation is complete. According to typical supervision policies, the most appropriate institutional response is to:

60 An examiner suspects fabricated results but has only circumstantial evidence. Under a fair research misconduct procedure, the correct first step is to: