LibGuides: Literature Reviews in Medicine and Health: Formulate the Question

Types of Questions

Clinical (Foreground) questions:

need focused information that addresses specific diagnostic approach or treatment regimen for clinical decision making

Exploratory quesitons:

to discover what is known about a topic
what are gaps in research related to the topic
where does the research need to go

Questions might investigate: prevention, cost-effectiveness, quality of life, clinical findings, prognosis, aetiology, or therapy, among others. The question asked determines the types of evidence searched.

Medicine & Health

PICO Framework

Patient, Population, Problem

Who is the patient or population of interest? What is the problem/issue/condition?
What clinical terms describe the patient or population?
What clinical terms describe the problem the patient is experiencing?

Intervention

What strategy/steps are you considering? (diagnosis, treatment, prevention, etc.)
What options do you have?
How specific can you be about your plan?

Comparison

Are there alternatives to what you are considering?
Is there comparative research on treatment options?
What would you do if you did not take the steps you plan to?

Outcome

What result or outcome is most important to your patient?
What result or outcome do you think is realistic?
What outcomes are reported in the literature for different treatment options?

PICOs

PICOS

P Patient Population

I Intervention OR Exposure

C Comparator Group

O Outcome OR Endpoint

S Study Design

PICOT

P Patient Population

I Intervention OR Exposure

C Comparison

O Outcome OR Endpoint

T Time

Interdisciplinary

WWH

WHO
WHAT
HOW

Policy and Services

ECLIPSE

Expectation - what needs to be changed or improved?
Client Group - Audience
Location
Impact
Professionals - stakeholders
Service

Public Health

PEO

POPULATION
EXPOSURE
OUTCOME

Social Sciences

SPICE

SETTING
PERSPECTIVE
INTERVENTION or INTEREST
COMPARISON
EVALUATION

PICOC

POPULATION
INTERVENTION
COMPARISON
OUTCOME
CONTEXT

Mixed Methods Research

SPIDER

SAMPLE
PHENOMENON OF INTEREST
DESING
EVALUATION
RESEARCH TYPE