Library Research CTF Game

This is the library research capture the flag (ctf) game. The goal of this game is to introduce you to the basics of library research and show you simple research skills you will need to successfully complete a research project, like a term paper, essay, presentation, or speech.

The game consists of five levels. Each level consists of a questionnaire and an exercise. Each level includes a walkthrough. The walkthrough contains all the materials you will need to answer all of the questions in the questionnaire, as well as instructions on how to complete the exercise in each level. Completing the exercise successfully will trigger a flag. Once the flag is triggered, you will copy it and “capture” it by pasting it in the flag box.

The game will end when you have answered all the questions and captured all the flags. As a last step, you will copy the last flag and send it to your instructor in an email. This will tell your instructor you have completed the game successfully.

Click Level 1 and open its walkthrough to start the game.

engineering

Level 1: the research process

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Question 1.1

From the Latin procedere or to move forward, the word means a series of actions or operations conducing to an end. ...................

Question 1.2

If we were to break the work of doing research for a paper into steps leading to the successful completion of our class project, we would then call it the . ...................

Question 1.3

All assignments come with a specific . This is the date when the completed project is supposed to be turned in to the instructor. ...................

Question 1.4

In general, there are two types of essays: and argumentative. ...................

Question 1.5

Most essays are written using a citation style. If you are taking a writing class, you will likely use the Modern Language Association citation style or . ...................

Exercise 1

Paste the MLA citation from the Merriam Webster Dictionary here:

Copy this flag and paste it in the flag box to capture it

key

Level 2: develop a research topic and key concepts

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Question 2.1

Coming up with a research topic for an essay or a school assignment is perhaps the part of the research process. ...................

Question 2.2

The first step in the process of developing a topic for research is to come up with an initial . ...................

Question 2.3

The secons step in developing a topic for research is to break down the initial broad topic into related . ...................

Question 2.4

The third step in the process is to pick a subtopic and turn it into a developed topic in the form of a . ...................

Question 2.5

The last step in the process is to review the chosen research question to make sure it's relevant, the right scope, and . ...................

Question 2.6

Once we have developed a topic into a research question, the next step is to look for basic information on the topic using and dictionaries. ...................

Exercise 2

Paste the Wikipedia page's wikidata item ID number here:

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book

Level 3: find books using the library catalog

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Question 3.1

Once we have a developed topic, key concepts, and basic facts from encyclopedias and dictionaries, the next step is to look for more in-depth for our project. ...................

Question 3.2

One of the sources we can use to get in-depth information is . ...................

Question 3.3

A book, or more specifically, a , is a publication that discusses a topic both in depth and breath, usually through a single author. ...................

Question 3.4

We find books in the library using the library . ...................

Question 3.5

Every has its own library catalog. ...................

Exercise 3

Paste the book's MLA (8th edition) citation from the library catalog here:

Copy this flag and paste it in the flag box to capture it

storage

Level 4: find journal articles using the library databases

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Question 4.1

Technically, and in general, a is a large collection and storage of data, organized in tables in a way to make it searchable by computer. ...................

Question 4.2

are lists of articles published in academic journals. ...................

Question 4.3

While books cover a topic in depth and breath, articles from academic journals are in scope and covers a single event. ...................

Question 4.4

Academic Search is a peer reviewed journal database. ...................

Question 4.5

is a very specific method of evaluating an article's information, tends to happen more in scientific research, and it's rarely seen in news and opinion articles. ...................

Question 4.6

An article's is a short summary of what the article says and it tells us right away if the article will be useful for our project. ...................

Exercise 4

Paste the MLA citation for the database's journal article here:

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language

Level 5: find quality information on the web

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Question 5.1

Even if we find it on the web, comes from books, journals, and other research publications. ...................

Question 5.2

Website's endings (.com, .edu, .net, .gov) are called . ...................

Question 5.3

The feature allows us to search for informaton in websites with the same domain. ...................

Question 5.4

We can also use the site: feature to look for information within a website. ...................

Question 5.5

Another way to make sure we access scholarly and academic information is by using . ...................

Exercise 5

Paste the MLA citation you found for the Google Scholar article here:

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