Overview of Part 3

This is Part 3 of the course Thinking about test questions (and choosing interactions) according to task type, which introduces a task-based approach to deciding which interactions would best suit the test questions you are trying to create.

As a quick recap, Part 1 introduced the task-based model with its four task types (as well as suggesting factors other than task type which are potentially relevant to your choice of interaction). Part 2 discussed the first of the four task types - IDENTIFY – and the interactions associated with it.

Part 3 will discuss the second of the four task types – CONNECT. Here's a reminder from Part 1 of what we already know about CONNECT: in this task type, candidates are asked to make connections between elements of some kind. They are presented with a series of items, and need to find the ones which are related, or say how they are related. A typical example of CONNECT is a matching exercise, though it is not limited to this.

In the following sections of Part 3 we'll look in more detail at the task CONNECT and its sub-types, and at some typical test scenarios associated with them. For each sub-type, we'll explore the various interactions which can be used in test questions based on these tasks. Then we'll establish the differences between the interactions available for each sub-type, where there is more than one, and look at the reasons which might motivate you to select one over the others for your particular test scenario.