Historical clues when evaluating any joint related complaint:
What is the functional limitation?
Symptoms within a single region or affecting multiple joints?
Acute or slowly progressive?
If injury, what was the mechanism?
Prior problems with the affected area?
Systemic symptoms?
Common approach to the examination of all joints:
Make sure the area is well exposed - no shirts, pants, etc covering either side - gowns come in handy
Carefully inspect the joint(s) in question. Are there signs of inflammation or injury (swelling, redness, warmth)? Deformity? As many joints are symmetric, compare with the opposite side
Must understand normal functional anatomy - what does this joint normally do?
Observe the joint while patient attempts to perform normal activity - what can't they do? What specifically limits them? Was there a discrete event (e.g. trauma) that caused this? If so, what was the mechanism of injury?
Palpate the joint in question. Is there warmth? Point tenderness? If so, over what anatomic strucutres?
Assess the range of motion, both active (patient moves it) and passive (you move it) if active is limited/causes pain.
Strength, neuro-vascular assessment.
Specific provocative maneuvers related to pathology occurring in that joint (see descriptions under each joint).
In the setting of acute injury and pain, it's often very difficult to assess a joint as patient "protects" the affected area, limiting movement and thus your examination. It helps to examine the unaffected side first (gain patient's confidence, develop sense of their normal).