Developing a searchable question can be tough! Using a question framework can help you think through your topic, identify key concepts and develop a searchable question.
ComponentsWho, what, where, when, how |
ExamplesWhat is folic acid and why is it important in prenatal care? |
One technique you can use to focus and refine your foreground questions is called the PICO framework. PICO can be helpful for research topics that are more clinically oriented. Other types of questions, like program design or qualitative research, might lend themselves to the SPICE or SPIDER frameworks.
Population/Patient |
Intervention |
Comparison/Control |
Outcome |
|
What are the characteristics (age, sex) of the population of interest and what are the health issue(s)? |
What program, policy, medication, medical treatment, etc.… are you interested in investigating? |
Is there a current practice that you want to compare? |
What result(s) will you consider to know if the intervention is working? |
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Seniors (>65)
|
Influenza Vaccine
|
-
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Pneumonia Sexually Transmitted Infections |
Setting |
Perspective/
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Intervention
|
Comparison (Optional) |
Evaluation
|
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What is the care setting of interest? What is the context? |
Who are the users, potential users, or stakeholders of the service? |
What is being done for the users, potential users, or stakeholders? |
What are the alternatives? |
What measurement will determine the intervention’s success? |
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Neonatal Intensive Care Unit |
Nursing Staff |
Mindfulness |
Control Group | Professional Resilience, Burnout |
|
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Sample |
Phenomenon
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Design |
Evaluation |
Research Type |
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The group of people being looked at |
Looks at the reasons for behaviour and decisions, rather than an intervention. |
The form of research used, such as interview or survey. |
The outcome measures. |
Qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed methods. |
| Cohort of breast cancer survivors | Supportive Care Needs | Mixed Methods | Types of care needs post-treatment |
Grounded theory |
These frameworks are intended to get you thinking about some of the important parameters of your research question.You'll find that by using these templates you're left with the elements for a focused and searchable question. Don't fret if these frameworks don't quite fit - the intent is merely to outline the details of your question with sufficient specificity. You can also just ask yourself if you've outlined the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, and HOW, as they apply, to your research topic.
To help you practice turning these key elements into questions, we've got some example scenarios for you to try next.
For additional information on developing PICO questions, try these tutorials:
For other models to help with question formation, check out the following sites:
