View source for Document-based question

{{Short description|Form of essay in US history exams}}
{{Advanced Placement}}
In American [[Advanced Placement]] exams, a '''document-based question''' ('''DBQ'''), also known as '''data-based question''', is an [[essay]] or series of short-answer questions that is constructed by students using their own [[knowledge]] combined with support from several provided sources. Usually, it is employed on timed [[history]] [[Test (student assessment)|tests]].

== In the United States ==
The document based question was first used for the 1973 AP United States History Exam published by the [[College Board]], created as a joint effort between Development Committee members Reverend Giles Hayes and Stephen Klein. Both were unhappy with student performance on free-response essays, and often found that students were "groping for half-remembered information" and "parroted factual information with little historical analysis or argument" when they wrote their essays. The goal of the Document Based Question was for students to be "less concerned with the recall of previously learned information" and more engaged in deeper historical inquiry. Hayes, in particular, hoped students would "become junior historians and play the role of historians for that hour" as they engaged in the DBQ.<ref>{{cite web|last=Henry|first=Mike|title=AP Central - The DBQ Change: Returning to the Original Intent| url= http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/members/homepage/10467.html |publisher=The College Board| accessdate=6 November 2012}}</ref>     

A typical DBQ is a packet of several original sources (anywhere from three to sixteen), labeled by letters (beginning with "Document A" or "Source A") or numbers. Usually all but one or two source(s) are textual, with the other source(s) being graphic (usually a [[political cartoon]], [[map]], or [[poster]] if primary and a chart or graph if secondary). In most cases, the sources are selected to provide different perspectives or views on the events or movements being analyzed.

On the [[Advanced Placement]] (AP) exams, only [[primary source]]s are provided; on the [[International Baccalaureate]] (IB) exams, both primary and [[secondary source]]s are provided. AP exams also require students to construct and defend a [[thesis]] based on one prompt, while IB exams focus on a series of questions, with at least one asking students to assess the "value and limitations" of a source, usually "with reference to the documents' origin or purpose."

The documents contained in the document-based questions are rarely familiar texts (for example, the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] and [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] are not likely to be on a U.S. history test), though the documents' authors may be major historical figures. The documents vary in length and format, and are often drawn from [[documentary editing]] projects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Conrad |first=Dennis |date=2005-01-01 |volume= 27| number = 4 |title=Presidential Address--A Time to Reach Out |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/docedit/280 |journal=Documentary Editing: Journal of the Association for Documentary Editing (1979-2011)}}</ref>

On some tests students are not permitted to begin responding to the question or questions in the essay packet until after a mandatory reading time ("planning period"), usually around 10 to 15 minutes. During this time, students read the passage and, if desired, make notes or markings. After this period, students are permitted to respond, usually for around 45 minutes to an hour.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.dbqproject.com/ The DBQ Project]

[[Category:Examinations]]