Clinical questions can be divided into roughly two types: background and foreground questions. Determining the type of question will help you to select the best resource to consult for your answer.

Background questions ask about fundamentals and facts. They are more general in nature. Background questions can be answered in any collection of factual information (databank), such as a book, practice guideline, or Web site.

Some examples of background questions are:

“What is temporal arteritis?”

“How is Type II Diabetes managed?”

Questions on signs and symptoms of disease, laboratory values and patient anatomy are considered background questions.

Research databases or systematic reviews are NOT the best resources to answer background questions.