Extended matching items

Extended matching items/questions (EMI or EMQ) are a written examination format similar to multiple choice questions but with one key difference, that they test knowledge in a far more applied, in depth, sense.

It is often used in medical education and other healthcare subject areas to test diagnostic reasoning.

Structure

The structure has three key elements:

Research evidence

Students sitting this test item format have a greater chance of answering incorrectly if they cannot synthesise and apply their knowledge as shown through the work of Susan Case and David Swanson (1989).

Evidence suggests that this format works best when there is a single best answer to each successive scenario or vignette.

Other variants

There are some instances where EMIs do not follow the evidence based format. These other uses of the term have been criticised as they do not apply the key principles of the EMQ as stated above. E.g. a question where two lists are offered, one of terms and one of descriptions is often referred to as an EMI.