EXPANDED SCOPE

FOR

RESEARCH ANALYST OC & PR 1,2,3,4,5

RESEARCH TECHNICIAN OC 1,2,3,4,5

SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST OC & PR 1,2,3,4,5

1. PREPARING WRITTEN MATERIAL- These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

2. UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING WRITTEN MATERIAL- These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

3. BASIC STATISTICAL CONCEPTS- These questions test for knowledge of the analytical methods used to reduce and describe large sets of numerical data. The questions cover such areas as the organization and presentation of data, statistical terminology, central tendency, variability, the normal curve, and correlation. You will not be required to do any substantial manipulation of data.

4. UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING TABULAR MATERIAL- These questions test your ability to understand, analyze, and use the internal logic of data presented in tabular form. You may be asked to perform tasks such as completing tables, drawing conclusions from them, analyzing data trends or interrelationships, and revising or combining data sets. The concepts of rate, ratio, and proportion are tested. Mathematical operations are simple, and computational speed is not a major factor in the test. You should bring with you a hand-held battery- or solar-powered calculator for use on this test. You will not be permitted to use the calculator function of your cell phone.

5. EVALUATING CONCLUSIONS IN LIGHT OF KNOWN FACTS- These questions will consist of a set of facts and a conclusion. You must decide if the conclusion is proved by the facts, disproved by the facts or if the facts are not sufficient to prove or disprove the conclusion. The questions will not be specific to a particular field.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available online at: https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

USE OF CALCULATORS IS RECOMMENDED