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 one's 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 by Peter Leone to torture his 8th-grade classes. He was 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. Leone, 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>
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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."
