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Database Search Tips

This guide will help get you started in some of our most popular databases. Happy searching! Let us know if we can help.

Developing a question

Before you start a systematic review, researchers must define the scope of the research question. There are many frameworks used to construct a research question. Check out the LibGuide from the University of Maryland's list for different research question frameworks.

Examine your topic to identify the major concepts you need to conduct the best searches. Consider: 

Background planning: think of the 5 W's and H for your topic: 

  • Who - are the stakeholders; is the population of interest; are the involved parties?
  • What - are the issues; are the problems; are the healthcare needs?
  • Where - is the focus of the study; is the geographically isolated area; are the national or global issues?
  • When - were studies conducted? does the timeline document the issue?
  • Why - is this problem, need, issue being addressed; is the review study critical to addressing it?
  • How - will possible solutions, interventions, other aspects of the research be assessed for effectiveness or quality; will results be delivered and/or implemented?

PICO

What is PICO? 

The framework PICO stands for Patient/Population/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome. It is a tool commonly used in medical and health research to help formulate a research question. The difficulty in creating a question is often underestimated and PICO can help us parse out the important elements for what a transparent question should contain. 

  • P: Patient/Population/Problem - the main problem you are addressing. What are the characteristics of the outlined problem and/or stakeholder population settings?
  • I: Intervention - the method to implement to address the problem of interest
  • C: Comparison - are there different interventions being compared?
  • O: Outcome - the measures reported in studies of interest. What are the measurable outcomes (standardized measures if possible) that would demonstrate the level of effectiveness of an intervention/implementation method or comparison that you are researching?

Use the resources from the National Library of Medicine to understand the PICO framework and learn how to formulate a research question. You can also check out the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions on how to develop a research question.

 

EXAMPLE – Are anti-vaping campaigns effective interventions for e-cigarette use among high school students?

  • PICO: 
    • P: High school students. Those between the ages typically 12-19. This may need to be further specified as the average age of a high school student varies. This is something that would need to be defined. The scope also may entail those students who are in American public high schools. 
    • I: Anti-vaping campaigns. Further specifications can be elaborated such as whether they are peer-lead campaigns or education programs lead by school faculty. 
    • C: No comparison applicable for this question, since it is only examining one intervention. 
    • O: Do anti-smoking campaigns have a positive impact to reduce teen e-cigarette smoking? 

To see how this PICO Question gets broken down and searched, please see our Databases LibGuide.