Research Question Frameworks are mnemonics - easy to remember acronyms with each letter standing for one part of the framework - which can be used to map out your search terms and align them to different categories within the framework. This can be useful when you're trying to work out which terms should be grouped together and so on.
Below you will find some of the more common frameworks but, when looking at books on literature review methods you may come across some more - if they look useful to you, make a note.
PICO Framework
| Framework | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| P = Population (or Patient or Problem) | Patients with dementia / ventilator acquired pneumonia / informal carers burnout / diabetic foot | |
| I = Intervention | Singing / toothpaste / intervention | |
| C = Comparison | Dancing / chlorhexidine / support / amputation | |
| O = Outcome | Often this is left out |
Population
In PICO (and many other search frameworks) population (or patient / problem) can refer to a range of categories
- actual population i.e.,, people you’re researching, e.g., nurses, psychologists, young people, old(er) people, children, specific ethnic groups etc.
- a category which comprises a population and a factor affecting them: nurses suffering from burnout, psychologists experiencing transference, young people recovering from traumatic brain injury, older people with diabetes, children with antisocial behaviour problems
Intervention
- Sometimes this is left blank in the search strategy – especially if you want information on any intervention that may have been used
- Sometimes you may search for the word ‘intervention’ itself
- Sometimes you may want to search for a specific type of intervention:
Or a type of medication (Citalopram) or treatment (green / blue therapy or horticultural therapy)
Comparison
- A lot of the time this is left out. You would use this option if you wanted to compare the usefulness of different types of treatment / intervention; if you don’t want to do a comparison, you don’t have to put terms in this section
| Intervention (example) | Comparison (example) |
|---|---|
| Chlorhexidine | Toothpaste / toothbrushing |
| Blue / Green therapy | CBT |
| Pharmacological | Non-pharmacological |
Outcome
If you want to compare two treatments / interventions, or you want to know if something (or what) is good practice, you generally wouldn’t put anything under outcome – the research will tell you if something is effective / good practice / doesn’t make much difference etc., when you read the articles in full
Useful for qualitative questions
| Population / Problem / Patient | Similar to population in PICO |
| Exposure | Experience of population group or intervention they will be exposed to |
| Outcome | Hoped for outcome as a result of the exposure |
Example
| Population / Problem / Patient | People with type 2 diabetes |
| Exposure | Mediterranean Diet |
| Outcome | Reversal of type 2 diabetes diagnosis |
(Elsevier, 2024)
Elsevier (2024) Clinical questions: PICO and PEO research. Available at: https://scientific-publishing.webshop.elsevier.com/research-process/clinical-questions-pico-and-peo-research/#How_to_Write_a_PEO_Question (Accessed: 19 November 2024)
Useful for qualitative and quantitative research.
Often used in scoping reviews (reviews that help you figure out how much research there is on a topic)
Useful for qualitative research looking at experiences but also includes descriptive and scoping reviews
| Population | Who the research is being conducted on - conditions affecting them / other characteristics of note such as age, gender etc. |
| Phenomena of Interest | This relates to a defined event, activity, experience or process related to the population group |
| Context | This can refer to the setting related to the population group and / or phenomenon of interest. It can also refer to any other special / identifiable characteristics which would inform the research |
Example (Hill, 2021)
| Population | People who inject drugs |
| Phenomena of Interest | Views / attitudes of Hepatitis C testing and diagnosis |
| Context | Services which test for Hepatitis C |
Hill, R. (2021) 'Getting started with a systematic review: developing your review question' [Presentation slides]. Researcher KnowHow session 1 of 3. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/getting-started-with-a-systematic-review-developing-your-review-question-250726443/250726443#4 (Accessed: 19 November 2024)
Useful for qualitative & mixed methods research questions
| Sample | Patient / Problem / Client group |
| Phenomenon of interest | Main topic of the research |
| Design | How will data be gathered? |
| Evaluation | Outcomes |
| Research type | Ethnographic, case studies, historical, action research, phenomenological, grounded theory, narrative model |
Useful for qualitative and mixed methods research
Can be used in health and also social sciences.
| Setting | Where (radiography unit; delivery suite; acute care ward) |
| Perspective | Who is it aimed at? (Patient group; health professionals; disadvantaged people) |
| Intervention | What do you want to do / implement / test? |
| Comparison | What do you want to compare the intervention with? |
| Evaluation | What's the result of this study? Positive, negative, no difference? |
Qualitative & mixed methods questions. Can be used when you want to focus on a specific service or profession
| Expectation | What do you want to improve or change? What will you do with the research? |
|
Client group |
Who are you aiming this policy or service at? Who will benefit from this research? |
| Location | Where will this service / policy be delivered? |
| Impact | What improvement or alteration are you researching? How will you measure it? |
| Professionals | Who holds responsibility for delivering the policy or service? (At the time of research) |
| Service | What kind of policy or service is it? |