Information Gathering (Information Ordering) on the NCJOSI-2

Information ordering is the ability to put actions or information in the right sequence by following a set of rules. Officers do it when they follow an evidence-handling procedure, a use-of-force policy, or the steps for processing an arrest.

This page explains what these questions ask of you, gives you one to try, and walks through a method for building the correct order.

What the questions ask you to do

Information ordering questions give you information out of order and ask you to put it in the right sequence. You might get the numbered sentences of an incident account to arrange in the order events happened — as in the practice question below — or a set of rules, like a procedure or a policy, and a list of actions to put in the correct order.

The rules are often written out of order on purpose, and they may use words like "before," "after," "once" and "only when" instead of numbered steps. Your job is to turn those clues into a sequence.

Try a practice question

This question is original practice content written by Badge & Hose. Every name, place and rule in it is fictional.

Officer Lane wrote these sentences for a report, but they are out of order.

  1. When I arrived, I saw a man sitting on the curb holding a towel to his forehead.
  2. At 7:40 p.m., I was dispatched to a reported fight outside the Lucky Star Diner.
  3. He answered that another man had hit him with a bottle and driven off in a white van.
  4. I then broadcast a description of the van to other units.
  5. I asked him what had happened.

Which order puts the sentences in the most logical sequence?

  1. 2, 5, 1, 3, 4
  2. 1, 2, 5, 3, 4
  3. 2, 1, 5, 3, 4
  4. 2, 1, 3, 5, 4
Show the answer and explanation

Answer: 2, 1, 5, 3, 4

The report starts with the dispatch, because "When I arrived" only makes sense after the officer has been sent somewhere. Next comes seeing the injured man, then asking him what happened, then his answer. The broadcast comes last, because the officer only learns about the white van from the man's answer.

The other orders each break one of those links. The officer can't ask "him" anything before the man has been introduced. Arriving can't come before being dispatched. And the man can't "answer" before he has been asked.

A method for ordering questions

  1. Find the first and last sentences

    Look for the opening event, such as a dispatch or a call, and the final action. Together they give you both ends of the sequence.

  2. Follow the time and clue words

    Words like "when I arrived," "then" and "after," and clock times, link sentences to each other.

  3. Put information before the actions that depend on it

    An officer can't broadcast a description before learning it. In procedure-style questions, turn each rule into "this comes before that."

  4. Check each choice from the start

    Rule out any choice with the wrong first sentence, then check the rest pair by pair.

Common mistakes

Keeping the order the sentences are listed in. They're shuffled on purpose.

Ignoring who knows what, when. A sentence that uses information has to come after the sentence where that information appears.

Missing pronoun clues. "Him" or "she" points back to someone already introduced, so that introduction comes first.

Doing it all in your head. Write the numbers down and move them around.

Practice more information ordering questions

In Badge & Hose study mode you can focus on one ability at a time and see an explanation after every answer. Information Gathering (Information Ordering) practice is part of Full Prep, which covers all ten abilities. The free tier includes reading comprehension, writing, spatial orientation and visualization.

See Full Prep Start free