Pretest/Posttest
Core Informatics Competencies
Select the single best answer. Do not guess-if you do not know the
answer, select option E: “I DO NOT KNOW.”
1. If you are uncertain about the coverage provided by a specific OVID
database, you should do which of the following:
A. □
Perform the same search in every database on the OVID suite.
B.
□
C.
□
□
□
D.
E.
Consult the Scope Note or Field Guide for information about the
specific database
Print the entire OVID Help File
Browse the list of journals indexed by specific database in question
I DO NOT KNOW
2. The following Boolean or logical operators are used to search databases
such as CINAHL:
A. □
AND
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
OR
AND, NOT, & OR
AND, OR, & WITHOUT
I DO NOT KNOW
3. Search terms are entered as commands to instruct the database on how to
search for information. This is referred to as:
A. □
Mapping to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
Thesaurus Searching
Building a Search Strategy
Selective Field Searching
I DO NOT KNOW
4. The intersecting region (C) in the Venn Diagram below represents articles
resulting from which Boolean search:
Set 1 (stress) (A)
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
5.
□
□
□
□
□
Set 2 (Students, Health Occupations) (B)
1 NOT 2
2 AND 1
1 WITHOUT 2
2 OR 1
I DO NOT KNOW
Exploding a subject search will usually yield which of the following:
A. □
Fewer citations
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
More citations
Fewer citations but of higher relevance
Equal number of citations of higher relevance
I DO NOT KNOW
6. Focusing (using an * or [majr]) a subject search will usually yield which of the
following:
A. □
Fewer citations
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
More citations
Fewer citations but of higher relevance
Equal number of citations of higher relevance
I DO NOT KNOW
7. After performing an initial search, in MEDLINE, CINAHL, etc. you can limit or
narrow results by:
A. □
age and gender of patients described in the articles
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
length of the article
all major disease categories
exclusion of irrelevant articles as determined by expert reviewers
I DO NOT KNOW
8. Keyword searching is appropriate to use when searching for:
A. □
information about new ideas or subjects (e.g., new drugs)
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
publications by specific authors
established concepts (e.g., organs and diseases)
foreign language articles
I DO NOT KNOW
Questions 9-14 refer to the figure below:
Set #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Search History
Breast neoplasms
exp Breast neoplasms
* Breast neoplasms
*exp Breast neoplasms
*exp Breast neoplasms/drug therapy
*Tamoxifen
*Tamoxifen/adverse effects
*exp Endometrial neoplasms
5 AND 6
5 AND 7 AND 8
Results
3000
3800
2400
3500
1600
1100
700
500
400
150
9. Set 2 contains more citations than Set 1. Why?
A. □
Set 2 exploded breast neoplasms, retrieving subordinate concepts
into the search
B. □
Set 2 was entered after Set 1 and compiled additional materials to
the first search
C. □
Set 1 contains more relevant (or focused) articles than Set 2
D.
□
E.
□
Set 1 contains only peer-reviewed English-language articles on
breast neoplasms
I DO NOT KNOW
10. Set 3 contains fewer citations than Set 1. Why?
A. □
Set 2 exploded breast neoplasms, retrieving subordinate concepts
into the search
D.
□
□
□
E.
□
B.
C.
Set 3 represents the articles in Set 2 not included in Set 1
Set 3 contains more relevant (or focused) articles than Set 1
Set 3 contains only peer-reviewed English-language articles on
breast neoplasms
I DO NOT KNOW
11. What is the nature of the citations retrieved in Set 5? Articles with
A. □
a primary focus on drug therapy in all forms of breast neoplasms
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
a primary focus on drug therapy of breast neoplasms in women
Phase IV clinical trials of breast cancer drugs
a primary focus on diet therapy in all forms of breast neoplasms
I DO NOT KNOW
12. What is the nature of the citations retrieved in Set 10? Articles about:
A. □
drug therapy of breast neoplasms or endometrial neoplasms
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
therapy of breast neoplasms
Tamoxifen therapy for breast cancer with endometrial cancer
dosing regimes for administration of Tamoxifen
I DO NOT KNOW
13. Shade in the appropriate areas of the Venn diagram below so as to
represent the search results from set 10
Set 7 (B)
*Tamoxifen/adverse effect
Set 5 (C)
*exp breast neoplasms/drug therapy
B
C
A
Set 8 (A)
*exp endometrial neoplasms
□
I DO NOT KNOW
14. In THEORY, what is the LARGEST POSSIBLE number of citations that could
be retrieved from combining Set 1 with Set 7 using the Boolean operator AND
(i.e., using the command (“1 AND 7”)?
A. □
3000
B.
C.
D.
E.
□
□
□
□
3700
2300
700
I DO NOT KNOW
This pretest/posttest is used by permission of the author Gullaume Van Moorsel, MLIS, Clinical
Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New
York, and Chief Medical Librarian and Director, Health Sciences Library, Stamford Health
System, Stamford, Connecticut. Email: guillaume.vanmoorsel@stonybrook.edu Test was
published: Van Moorsel, Guillaume. Library-Sponsored Instruction Improves Core Informatics
Competencies among Allied Health Students: a Research-Based Case Study. Journal of Allied
Health 34(3):145-152 Fall 2005.