What type of queries are used to manipulate data by inserting, updating, or removing it?

Action queries are specifically designed to perform operations that manipulate data within a database, such as inserting new records, updating existing records, or deleting records. These queries alter the data stored in the database and are essential for maintaining and managing data effectively.

In contrast, select queries focus primarily on retrieving data from the database without making changes to it. They are used for data analysis and reporting purposes, allowing users to extract specific information based on defined criteria.

Retrieval queries, similar to select queries, aim to gather information from the database but do not apply alterations. Therefore, these do not fall under the category of queries that manipulate data.

Join queries serve to combine rows from two or more tables based on related columns, enabling complex data retrieval across multiple sources. While they are invaluable for analysis and obtaining related information, they do not perform any data manipulation themselves.

Thus, action queries are the only type that specifically fulfills the requirement to manipulate data through insertion, updating, or removal, making them the correct choice in this context.