Information Sources Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The correct matching is a dictionary with words and synonyms, a glossary with specific subjects, a thesaurus with synonymous terms, and a lexicon with foreign language. The codes are iii, iv, ii, i, so the answer is option A.

A dictionary lists words with meanings and synonyms, a glossary explains the terms of a particular subject, a thesaurus groups terms with the same or related meaning, and a lexicon is the dictionary of a classical or foreign language. The other codes interchange these.

Answer: A

The correct matching is Current Biography with the U.S.A., Index Translationum with UNESCO, VINITI with Russia, and Library Trends with the University of Illinois. The codes are iii, iv, i, ii, so the answer is option A.

Current Biography is published in New York, UNESCO publishes the Index Translationum, VINITI is the Russian institute for scientific and technical information, and Library Trends is issued from the University of Illinois. The other codes pair a title with the wrong place or body.

Answer: C

Both (A) and (R) are true. In the study of history a primary source is an artefact, a document or a recording created at the time of the event or just after it, so (A) is true. Primary sources are the original material or evidence on the topic and are fundamental to history, so (R) is true as well.

The options that call either statement false are wrong. The key accepts the plain form, both true, since the question gives only true and false choices without asking for an explanation.

Answer: B

The official key takes (A) as false and (R) as true. The National Library at Kolkata does receive a copy of every Indian publication under the Delivery of Books Act, so (R) is true.

But the Indian National Bibliography is not regarded as the most comprehensive source, because it lists the books received and recorded by the national library in a time lag, and it does not cover every Indian publication. So (A) is false. The options that accept (A) as true are therefore wrong.

Answer: B

The key takes (A) as partially true and (R) as true. Newspaper digests are compiled by going through many newspapers, so (R) is true. They are good sources for current information, but they are not as authentic and complete as books, so (A) is only partially true.

The options that call (A) fully true are wrong because a digest is a secondary compilation, and the option that calls both false is wrong because the compilation process is accurately described.

Answer: C

The official key takes (A) as true and (R) as false, so the answer is option C. Encyclopaedias are regarded as a ready substitute for many kinds of reference sources because they give information on every subject in one place, which is the sense of (A).

The key does not accept the reason as true, so it is not taken as the explanation. The options that call (A) false, or call both statements true or both false, do not agree with the official key. This item follows the key, and a reviewer may wish to check the wording of the reason.

Answer: B

The key gives the Bengal Library Association as the compiler of the Web Bibliography of Rabindranath Tagore.

RRRLF is the foundation that supports public libraries, the National Library of India is the library of legal deposit, and IASLIC is the association of special libraries and information centres. The key does not choose these.

Answer: A

The Year Book on Human Rights is published by the United Nations. It reports the work of the UN in the field of human rights each year.

The Ministry of Law of the Government of India, Europa Publishers and R.R. Bowker publish other reference works, but not this year book, so they are rejected. The year book is a standard source for the texts of human rights documents and the work of the UN bodies in that year, which is why the UN itself, as the body that produces the information, is its publisher.

Answer: B

The core content of the ISI Web of Knowledge includes Current Contents, ISI proceedings and the Derwent Information Index, so the code is (i), (ii) and (iii).

AGRICOLA is the agricultural database of the National Agricultural Library in the United States, and it is not part of the ISI Web of Knowledge. So the codes that contain (iv) are wrong. The Web of Knowledge groups the citation indexes and a set of other products. Current Contents, the proceedings of conferences and the Derwent index belong to its core, while agricultural literature is the subject of a different database.

Answer: C

Bibliography and indices and abstracts are called the path finders to the literature, which is the code (i) and (iv).

They guide the reader to the documents available on a subject. The catalogue and the shelf list record the holdings of one library, so they are not described as the path finders to the whole literature. Pathfinders guide a reader through the literature and are subject lists, indices and abstracts. A catalogue and a shelf list only show what one library holds, which is a narrower service.