LibGuides: Northwell/ZSOM Systematic Review: Developing the Research Question

Developing the Research Question

Research Question Frameworks

Systematic review questions typically follow a PICO-framework (patient/population, intervention, comparison, and outcome)
Using the PICO framework clarifies and refines the scope of the question
Each element of the PICO framework should be described in detail.

PICO

Element	Questions to think about	Example
Population/Problem	Who is the population being affected? What are their symptoms, age, gender, etc.	Middle aged male amputees suffering from phantom limb pain
Intervention	What is being done for this population? (i.e. surgery, rehabilitation, medication, services)	gabapentin
Comparison	Is there a control group or comparison element? (i.e. standard of care, placebo, etc.)	placebo
Outcome	What do you want to learn from this study? What do you want to change or measure?	decreasing pain symptoms

Once you have identified each of the elements, formulate your research question incorporating each element.
- The PICO Question Template - assists you with formulating your PICO question.

Ex. Is gabapentin (intervention), compared to placebo (comparison), effective in decreasing pain symptoms (outcome) in middle aged male amputees suffering phantom limb pain (population)?

Based on your PICO, you should be able to find and identify studies that will be included in your systematic review. These studies, known as exemplars, guide the search development but also serve as proof of concept that your question is answerable. If you are unable to find studies to include, you may need to reconsider your question.

PEO

The PEO question framework is useful for qualitative research topics, like scoping reviews. PEO questions identify three concepts: population, exposure, and outcome.

Element	Questions to think about	Example
Population	Who is the population being affected? What are their symptoms, age, gender, etc.	Infants between 6-9 months old
Exposure	What is the specific exposure? (i.e. witnessed a resuscitation, domestic violence)	Exposure to micro-doses of common food allergies
Outcome	What is the element that you are looking at? Is there a theme?	Reduce childhood food allergies

Research Question: In infants between the age of 6 to 9 months (Population), is there an association between exposure to micro-doses of common food allergens (Exposure) and reduced childhood food allergies? (Outcome)

Did you know there are at least 25 other question frameworks besides variations of PICO and PEO? Frameworks like, SPIDER, SPICE, and ECLIPS can help you formulate a focused research question.