Types of Exam Questions: Written Examinations

The University of Aberdeen currently utilises both written examinations and Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE).

Single Best Answer Questions

Single Best Answer Questions are a type of closed format questions where candidates are required to select the best answer from a list of topics. These types of question largely test factual recall but can also require the candidate to make a diagnosis, or select an appropriate investigation or treatment option.

Single best answer questions comprise the question details, usually a clinical scenario or a problem (the stem), a clear question (the lead in), a best answer, and 4 inferior answers (the distractors).

A well written question should allow the candidate to formulate the best answer prior to reading the options, although answer options should be carefully written so as to provide some degree of difficulty, without any ambiguity. It should not be possible for a candidate with no knowledge of the best answer to arrive at the best answer by a process of elimination which is not based on knowledge of the subject.

Each correctly answered Single Best Answer Question is awarded 1 mark.