Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) Practice Exam

What are full-text databases?

1. Databases that only contain abstracts of documents

2. Databases that include the full text of documents

3. Databases limited to graphical content

4. Databases that focus exclusively on statistical data

The correct answer is: Databases that include the full text of documents

Full-text databases are designed to provide users with comprehensive access to the entire content of documents, rather than just summaries or abstracts. This makes them an essential resource for in-depth research, as users can read and analyze the complete text, which can include articles, reports, legal documents, and other types of literature. The ability to access the full text allows for a more thorough understanding of the material, facilitating better research outcomes, particularly in legal contexts where the specifics of the text are crucial. The other choices describe database types that do not offer the complete content of documents, limiting the information that can be gathered. For example, databases that only contain abstracts provide only summaries, which may not capture critical details found in the full documents. Similarly, databases focused on graphical content or purely statistical data do not meet the definition of a full-text database, as they do not provide textual information in its entirety. Thus, the correct answer reflects the core characteristic that differentiates full-text databases from other types.