Conselling Master Questionnaire Describe the Boolean Approach (Hauser, 2009 p. 18)

In order to use counseling databases to search for information, it is important to develop appropriate search practices. The terms one types when searching will most likely provide the results owing to their meaning. Therefore, it is up to an individual to come up with a search strategy and learn the tips of using counseling databases. The tips will assist an individual in acquiring high quality information in the required amount. Additionally, an individual is likely to add intelligence to their search strategies, the more one knows the tips of searching, and they are likely to obtain better results.

The Boolean approach is among the techniques that will generate useful results when using counseling databases, and it aims at supporting scholarly research. On the other hand, Boolean operators are words, which have unique meanings that instruct the database to either combine various search terms in particular ways or avoid particular notions in the search. The operators include AND, OR and Not. When an individual uses them properly, they will enhance the search. For instance, operator AND, narrows a search and retrieves results, which involves both terms together.

2) Name some major databases (Hauser, 2009 p. 18)

A database is a collection of organized information, which aims at providing an efficient point of retrieving information. The organization follows a systematic manner that makes it easy to access information, management and updating. Owing to the many disciplines that exist, there are many databases designed to fulfill each field of education. A database makes it easy to do research, access important information and develop knowledge. In the field of counseling and education research, there are various databases. Some of the databases include Academia Search Primer, Expanded Academic, JSTOR, PsycCritiques, Sociological Abstracts, Biological Abstracts and PsycArticles. In addition, for one to find the right or appropriate information, which is relevant to their topic of research, using the correct terms when researching is crucial.

3) What does the "Web of Science" do? (Hauser, 2009 p. 19)

"Web of Science" is an extensive interdisciplinary, bibliographic database with article references ranging from various research materials. The materials include journals, books and proceedings. Most of them come from various fields such as sciences and technology, arts and humanities, counseling and social sciences. The Web of Science provides access to numerous databases that reference various researches, which allows for comprehensive exploration of exceptional sub-fields provided in a scientific discipline.

Development of a citation index is possible. This is because citations in science act as connectors between the same research items and result to similar or correlated scientific information from abstracts journals and proceedings. In addition, the literature that has the largest influence in a given field, or more than one discipline, is easy to find using the citation index. For instance, the citation index makes it possible to establish the papers influence by connecting all papers, which have cited the index.

4) Define and explain briefly the difference between a PDF and an HTML page

According to Hauser (2009, p. 19), both PDF and HTML provide an interface where investigators can view citations after searching for information on a database. The both offer full text options where one can see the article they were searching. A PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file design that has captured all aspects of a printed text in the form of a viewable, electronic image. On the other hand, HTML is a language that describes a web page. Although a PDF file and HTML files comprise of similar texts, they have differences. A PDF file reveals the actual view of an article and will have the page numbers, which were on the actual article. On the other hand, an HTML file is computer generated, which does not show images that were on the original article.

5) Explain what are plagiarism and the types of plagiarism that can happen (Hauser, 2009 p. 21)

Plagiarism is the act of utilizing another person's language, thoughts, texts, writing, speech or song without permission, and using the above in one's own literary works, without accrediting the original author. Plagiarism is a form of cheating because the act is illegal, in other terms; it is actually taking without permission, which is a form of theft. It is academic dishonesty because people use other people's ideas or writings as their own. In addition, there are various forms of plagiarism. Copy and paste plagiarism is the most dominant type of plagiarism where an individual the highlights information from any research material...

21)
"Cryptomnesia" is a psychological condition in which a person mistakes a memory for a new idea. However, the phenomenon is common to every human being from time to time, but the degree of the condition and the control intervention is controversial. Hauser (2009, p. 21) further suggests that unintentional plagiarism and a result of not remembering that one acquired the information source as "cryptomnesia." Some psychologists have used the condition to explain inadvertent plagiarism, and they have described the condition as a theory of forgotten memory. Some of the common aspects used in the study of this condition include understanding the way the brain stores information and subsequently processes the same information.

7) What is "cyber cheating?" (Hauser, 2009 p. 21)

Plagiarism as described by Hauser is an academic dishonesty because a person takes another person's ideas and uses them in his or her own writing as their own, without accrediting the original author. There are various forms of plagiarism ranging from copy and pasting to "cyber cheating." "Cyber cheating" is another form of plagiarism, whereby an individual takes other people's ideas or writings from the web, copies it and pastes it in their own piece of work.

8) Name the four different measurement scales in statistics (Hauser, 2009 p. 23)

Hauser suggests that for one to be in a position to evaluate research it is important for them to understand numerous common statistical methods and the terminologies included. In his book, Hauser defines statistics as "an area of science concerned with the extraction of information from numerical data and its use in making inferences about population from which data are obtained (p. 23)." Therefore, it is apparent that statistics is primarily concerned with making inferences concerning population. In addition, there are various measurement scales, identified and utilized in quantitative research. They include a nominal scale, an ordinal scale, an interval scale and a ratio scale.

9) What is the difference between "numerals" and "numbers?" (Hauser, 2009 p. 23)

In order to provide an efficient evaluation of research, Hauser suggests that there is a need to differentiate between numerals and numbers. In his definition, he suggests that numerals primarily deal with symbols including words and letters, for example male and female. It is not possible to assume that the distance between intervals is equal. In addition, some measurement scales such as nominal an ordinal scales utilize fall under the numerals category. On the other hand, Hauser defines numbers as values used in mathematics to perform operations such as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and so on, and the numbers have an even distance between units. For instance, the interval distance between 102 and 103 is similar to that between 104 and 105. Nominal scales and ratio scales are central to the use of numbers.

10) What is a "data set?" (Hauser, 2009 p. 25)

A "data set" is among the many statistical definitions, which refers to scores found in a particular collection of scores, commonly from a sample of a given population. A typical example of a data set s the scores of 60 participants in a specific research study.

11) Explain what is/are: (Hauser, 2009 p. 25)

a) A distribution: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), a distribution refers to the manner in which distribution of scores across a data set occurs, or the path used to distribute scores across a data set.

b) Frequencies: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), frequencies refer to the degree at which a particular score appears in a distribution, or the number of times a score appears in a particular distribution.

c) Median: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), Median refers to the middle point (average), where half of scores fall above and the other half fall below this point.

d) Mode: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), mode refers to the score that appears the most or many numbers of times in a given distribution.

e) Normal curve: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), a normal curve is the symmetrical bell-shaped curve.

f) Range: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), a range is the distance between the highest and the lowest score in the distribution.

g) Scales of measurement: According to Hauser (2009 p. 25), scales of measurement are the various types of scales utilized in measuring the variables.

12) Explain what "Descriptive statistics" is? (Hauser, 2009 p. 26)

The primary objective of statistics is to make inferences concerning a population. In so doing, there is a need to explain or offer information concerning the sample,…