Frameworks help researchers structure a research question and clarify search concepts. There are many different frameworks depending on the type of question. For clinical questions, the most well-known is PICO. Sometimes your question may not fit perfectly into a framework. You can use part of a framework if necessary.
(for questions covering the effectiveness of an intervention, treatment etc.)
Patient, Population or Problem - who is the patient and/or what is the problem?
Intervention - what intervention is being considered?
Comparison - what intervention is this being compared with (a comparison is not always necessary)
Outcomes - what do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect?
Example: Alternatives to drugs for controlling headaches in children
There are extensions to the PICO framework available which you can use if your topic has additional concepts:
(for questions relating to prognosis issues)
Population- who and/or what is my question focused on?
Prognostic Factors- what is being prognosed?
Outcomes- what are the possible outcomes of the prognosis?
Example: How likely are children with febrile seizures to develop a seizure disorder?
(for questions relating to the prevalence/incidence of a condition, problem etc.)
Condition- what condition/problem are you examining?
Context- in what context is your question set?
Population- what population/group are you examining
Example: What is the prevalence of claustrophobia in adult patients undergoing MRI?
(for questions relating to cost/benefit, economic evaluations, service improvements etc.)
Patient, Population or Problem - who is the patient and/or what is the problem?
Intervention - what intervention is being considered?
Comparison - what intervention is this being compared with? (a comparison is not always necessary)
Outcomes - what do you hope to accomplish, improve or affect?
Context- in what context or place is the problem set?
Example: What is the cost effectiveness of self monitoring of blood glucose in type 2 diabetes in high income countries?
(for questions relating to cost/benefit, economic evaluations, service improvements etc.)
Client – who is the service aimed at?
Location – where is the service site?
Improvement – what do you want to find out?
Professional – who is involved in providing/improving the service?
Example: Ways of improving health visiting services to elderly in rural communities
(for questions relating to cost/benefit, economic evaluations, service improvements etc.)
Expectation - why do you need the information?
Client Group -who is the information needed for - e.g. health managers, GPs, patients
Location - where is the client group or service located
Impact - what is the change in the service, if any, you are looking for? What would constitute success? How is this being measured?
Professionals - what health professionals are involved in the service?
Service - what service are you considering changing? For example, outpatient services, nurse-led clinics, intermediate care.
Example: retention of ICU nurses in the US
(for qualitative questions evaluating experiences, meaningfulness etc.)
Patient, Population or Problem- who is the patient and/or what is the problem?
Interest- a defined event, experience, activity or process
Context- a setting or distinct characteristics
Example: What are the experiences of patients with pressure sores who receive treatment at home?
(for qualitative questions evaluating experiences, meaningfulness etc.)
Population - who is my question focused on?
Exposure - what is the issue I'm interested in?
Outcomes or themes - what theme do I want to examine?
Example: The quality of life of caregivers for people with dementia
(for qualitative questions evaluating experiences, meaningfulness etc.)
Setting - where is the study set e.g. in a specific country, community, in a hospital, in a care home etc.
Perspective - from whose perspective is the study done - e.g. the patients, the health professionals., the caregivers etc.
Intervention - what intervention is being examined?
Comparison - is the intervention being compared with another?
Evaluation - the outcome measures
Example: Attitudes of caregivers of people with dementia towards reminiscence therapy
(for qualitative questions evaluating experiences, meaningfulness etc.)
Sample - the group of people being looked at - because qualitative research is not easy to generalize, sample is preferred over patient.
Phenomenon of Interest - reasons for behavior and decisions, rather than an intervention.
Design - the form of research used, such as interview or survey.
Evaluation - outcome measures.
Research type - qualitative, quantitative and/or mixed methods.
Example: Young parents experiences of attending prenatal education