developing a research question picot

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Publications
Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

Advanced Search
Journal List
J Can Chiropr Assoc
v.56(3); 2012 Sep

What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians

John j. riva.

† Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Keshena M.P. Malik

¶ Graduate Student, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Stephen J. Burnie

‡ Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, Ontario.

Andrea R. Endicott

£ Senior Policy Analyst, Ontario Chiropractic Association, Toronto, Ontario.

Jason W. Busse

§ Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario.

* Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Introduction

Clinicians often witness impressive treatment results in practice and may wish to pursue research to formally explore their anecdotal experiences. The potential to further new knowledge both within the profession and to the greater healthcare system is compelling. An obvious next step for a practitioner considering research is to connect with experienced researchers to convey their idea for a study, who may in turn ask, “What is your research question?” With limited understanding of how to respond, this interaction may result in the first and last experience these clinicians will have with the research community.

It has been estimated that between 1% and 7% of the chiropractic profession in Canada is engaged in research. 1 , 2 Arguably, this low engagement could be the result of practitioners’ perceived importance of research and levels of research literacy and capacity. However, increasing demands for evidence-based approaches across the health system puts pressure on all clinicians to base their decisions on the best available scientific evidence. Lack of clinician representation in research has the probable effect of limiting growth and new developments for the profession. Furthermore, lack of clinician involvement in research complicates the transfer of study findings into practical settings.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research describes integrated knowledge translation as a process that involves collaboration between researchers and knowledge users at all stages of a research project. 3 This necessitates involvement of clinicians to help in forming a research question, interpreting the results, and moving research findings into practice. This shared effort between clinicians and researchers increases the likelihood that research initiatives will be relevant to practice. 3 Conversely, it has been reported that there is a growing communication gap between clinicians and academics in chiropractic. 4 Clinicians have important practice-related questions to ask, but many may lack the ability to map out their research strategy, specifically in communicating their question in a manner required to develop a research protocol.

David L. Sackett, Officer of the Order of Canada and the founding Chair of Canada’s first Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at McMaster University, highlights the importance of mapping one’s research strategy in exploration of the research question: “one-third of a trial’s time between the germ of your idea and its publication in the New England Journal of Medicine should be spent fighting about the research question.” (personal communication, November 30, 2011) We describe a randomized controlled trial (RCT) example to highlight how clinicians may use existing literature and the PICOT format to formulate a research question on treatment efficacy.

PICOT Defined

The PICOT format is a helpful approach for summarizing research questions that explore the effect of therapy: 5

(P) – Population refers to the sample of subjects you wish to recruit for your study. There may be a fine balance between defining a sample that is most likely to respond to your intervention (e.g. no co-morbidity) and one that can be generalized to patients that are likely to be seen in actual practice.
(I) – Intervention refers to the treatment that will be provided to subjects enrolled in your study.
(C) – Comparison identifies what you plan on using as a reference group to compare with your treatment intervention. Many study designs refer to this as the control group. If an existing treatment is considered the ‘gold standard’, then this should be the comparison group.
(O) – Outcome represents what result you plan on measuring to examine the effectiveness of your intervention. Familiar and validated outcome measurement tools relevant to common chiropractic patient populations may include the Neck Disability Index 6 or Roland-Morris Questionnaire. 7 There are, typically, a multitude of outcome tools available for different clinical populations, each having strengths and weaknesses.
(T) – Time describes the duration for your data collection.

RCT Design Example Using PICOT

Dosage effects of spinal manipulative therapy for chronic neck pain.

Neck pain is second in frequency only to low back pain among musculoskeletal complaints reported in the general population and among those presenting to manual therapy providers. 8 , 9 Chronic neck pain (i.e. neck pain lasting longer than 90 days) is a common reason for presenting to a chiropractor’s office, and such patients often receive spinal manipulation or mobilization. 10 Recent systematic reviews of RCTs and prior observational studies have shown increases in cervical range of motion, 11 , 12 and decreases in self-rated neck pain 13 , 14 following cervical spine manipulation. In 2010, the Cochrane systematic review concluded, “Optimal technique and dose need to be determined.” 14

Despite evidence of benefit, there is a limited understanding of the optimal dose for neck manipulation; as such, frequency and duration of this treatment varies greatly between clinicians. Although patient characteristics and clinicians’ beliefs likely account for some of this variation, it seems likely that many cases of mechanical neck pain will require a minimal number of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) treatments to derive benefit and that no further benefit will result after a certain upper threshold is reached. To properly examine the dose effects of manipulation for neck pain, it is necessary to consider three treatment factors:

total number of manipulations

A factorial design RCT allows investigators to consider more than one treatment factor at a time and examine possible interactions between them. This trial design allows for determination of, not only, the effects of frequency and duration, but also whether it is more effective to provide a certain number of manipulations over shorter or longer durations (i.e. an interaction between the two factors). Considering a 3x4 factorial design, patients would attend 1, 2, or 3 sessions per week (i.e. the first ’factor’ of frequency) with manipulation provided over a duration of 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, or not at all (i.e. the second ‘factor’ of duration). To improve generalizability of findings, neck manipulation could be performed using standard rotary or lateral break diversified technique, which is the most common manually applied neck manipulation in chiropractic practice. Pain relief is a common concern among patients presenting with neck pain and detection of a resulting difference of 13 mm on the 100mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS) line is considered a clinically important change in intensity for patients with chronic pain. 15

Research Question: In adults with chronic neck pain, what is the minimum dose of manipulation necessary to produce a clinically important improvement in neck pain compared to supervised exercise at 6 weeks?

(P) – Population: Adults 18 to 60 years of age, with a clinical diagnosis of chronic mechanical neck pain who have not received cervical SMT in the past year. Patients with non-mechanical neck pain or contraindications to cervical manipulation will be excluded.

Frequency and Duration of SMT

(C) – Comparison: A standardized supervised exercise regimen would be used as an active control group. All subjects, regardless of group assignment, would perform a standardized exercise regime at each session over a period of 6 weeks. Using this strategy, we will be able to minimize the non-specific effects due to attending a clinic.
(O) – Outcome: Changes in neck pain, measured using the 100mm VAS for pain.
(T) – Time: The outcome would be measured weekly for 6 weeks.

Clinician input, assuming expertise in the ‘gold standard’ standard rotary or lateral break diversified technique and an ability to teach it, would be helpful during the planning of patient recruitment. Specifically, in leading training initiatives to calibrate each treating chiropractor to deliver his/her manipulation in a similar way (i.e. load, force, angle) and to assist in normalizing communication with study subjects. This standardization, through structured training sessions for those rendering treatment, will help ensure no additional interventions were inadvertently applied (i.e. education, extra advice).

Other Study Designs Amenable to PICOT

The PICOT format example described above represents a factorial RCT methodology that has been informed by the existing literature. While a well-conducted RCT is appropriate for answering many questions on treatment efficacy, they are typically costly, time-consuming and challenging to conduct. Not all research questions that clinicians wish answered are feasible using this research methodology and the use of a PICOT format is also applicable to other study designs.

The clinical research question being asked ideally determines the best research design for a study. A prospective or retrospective cohort design may be an easier methodology to administer in comparison to a RCT; but study results can by affected by confounding due to the comparison of non-randomized groups. Another methodology, used to look for associations between respondent characteristics and outcomes of interest, is a cross-sectional survey. This methodology is faster and less expensive to do in comparison to a RCT since it considers one time-point of individuals in various spectrums of the variables of interest. However, this design can also can be prone to recall problems by respondents who self-report information if investigators ask about events in the past. A case-control study is most appropriate when attempting to identify associations between patient characteristics and outcomes that take a long time to occur or are very rare. For example, the study by Cassidy et al. (2008) looking at risk of vertibrobasilar artery stroke following chiropractic care, whilst more complex in the design approach, used aspects of a case-control methodology. 16

While these study designs are common in clinical research today, they are not exhaustive of all designs available. Systematic reviews will be familiar to most as a study design aimed at summarizing bodies of studies; but other less familiar individual patient focus designs, such as N-of-1 RCT, 17 also exist which are amenable to the PICOT format depending on the research question that is being posed.

Many considerations need to be contemplated in the PICOT formulation: How detailed should the literature search be in breadth and quality level? What study design best fits the research question? Should the patient population include very similar types of patients or will there be more of a real-world wide variety of participants? Will the intervention be very specific and rendered by a clinical expert or will there be a combination of tailored interventions rendered by a non-clinician with a more general skill set? Will the comparison be against usual care (i.e. ‘gold standard’) or a sham placebo procedure? Will the outcomes measured be from validated instruments on a form or more from direct patient verbal communication and will these results be presented in a way most important to clinicians, patients or policy-makers? And if so, what amount of difference and how many patients would be required to both statistically and clinically conclude the intervention was effective? Will measurement of outcomes occur at multiple times or once at 5 days, 6 months or 10 years?

While these considerations are clearly complex and not inclusive of the entire process, to develop a strong research question framed in the PICOT format, it is an important basis to understand both the clinical area of investigation and the current literature that exists. As highlighted by the example above, it is necessary to review the type and quality of research that has already been performed in the area of interest to guide development of a question. When initially synthesizing the literature, some key entry questions to examine include:

what are the important research questions in the field?
what has been found?
what areas need further exploration?
would the proposed study fill a gap and better an understanding?

In our example design, the literature search identified existing knowledge in the respective area. A recent high-quality Cochrane review reported on previously completed RCTs in the area, strengths and weaknesses of these studies and offered direction as to gaps in current understanding that would benefit from further research exploration. 14 As research is a time consuming and often costly endeavour, building on the best available existing knowledge rather than “re-inventing the wheel” is favourable.

Only after a thorough literature synthesis and investigation into these answers should a research question be formulated – in some instances a systematic review methodology may actually align best with the PICOT framework for your research question. Turning an idea into a good research question requires it to be feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant. 18 This feasibility refers to, not only, resources (time and money), but also to whether there is agreement on the meaning of the research question and to whether everything that needs to be measured can be measured by the study design. The question should be of interest to many in the clinical area to drive both team momentum for the project and dissemination of the results. Generating new knowledge in large existing gaps of healthcare provides the opportunity to help large volumes of patients who previously may have had poorer clinical outcomes. Practically, ethical considerations have to be accounted for in related study designs to ensure subjects are not harmed by the study. Finally, reflection is required on how well the study design will apply to the real world.

A strong research question should always pass the ‘so what?’ test. Who will the research help? What is the benefit? There should be a definitive and strong rationale for the purpose of the research. A well-thought-out focused research question leads directly into hypotheses; the predictions about the nature and direction of the relationship between the variables under study. Hence, the question acts as the foundation of the study.

The importance of moving from studies to empirically supported treatments to evidence-based practices may very well rest on whether or not a clinician views the research as relevant to their daily practice. It is common for clinicians to express frustration that researchers are not asking questions that are of most relevance to practice. Similarly, researchers often find that clinicians have difficulty distilling the important concepts they would like investigated in a way that can be feasibly researched.

To support both clinical and academic interests, an important clinical research question should therefore be one that is developed in conjunction with a diverse team. This expertise should align with the best research methodology available and propose a project feasible to complete through study that will adequately answer the research question asked. In Canada, the Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation has reported that there are currently 12 university-based research chairs, 15 PhD candidates and 14 Masters students. 19 An opportunity exists to engage these researchers, as well as those from chiropractic schools, in helping to formulate important clinical research questions.

Clinicians interested in research pursuits, related to patient care, should consider the use of a literature search and the PICOT format when engaging clinical researchers. This approach will provide clinicians and researchers an initial basis for mutual understanding, communication and direction to help answer clinical study questions of most relevance.

Clinicians should frame practice-based research questions in the PICOT format
Look to existing literature for guidance in the formulation of a research question
Clinicians have an important role in contributing to the integrated knowledge translation of research studies
Framing of a research question offers a common language between clinician and researcher discourse

Funding: No funds were received for the preparation of this manuscript. Dr. Busse is funded by a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Canadian Chiropractic Research Foundation. Dr. Riva is funded by an award from the NCMIC Foundation. Drs. Burnie, Busse, Malik and Riva are members of the McMaster Chiropractic Working Group, which receives in-kind support from the Canadian Chiropractic Association.

Competing Interests: None.

#1 Duquesne University Graduate School of Nursing is Ranked #1 for Veterans by Militaryfriendly.com for 7 years running

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Executive Nurse Leadership and Health Care Management
Family Nurse Practitioner
Forensic Nursing
Nursing Education and Faculty Role
Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Clinical Leadership
Admissions & Aid
About Duquesne
Why Duquesne Online?

Formulating a PICOT Question

September 26, 2020

View all blog posts under Articles | View all blog posts under Doctor of Nursing Practice

Portrait Of Doctor Working At Nurses Station Smiling At Camera

The word PICOT is a mnemonic derived from the elements of a clinical research question – patient, intervention, comparison, outcome and (sometimes) time. The PICOT process begins with a case scenario, and the question is phrased to elicit an answer.

“The question needs to identify the patient or population we intend to study, the intervention or treatment we plan to use, the comparison of one intervention to another (if applicable) and the outcome we anticipate,” Kathy A. Jensen, MHA, RN, wrote in EBSCO Health’s whitepaper, “7 Steps To The Perfect Pico Search.” “Once a well-structured question is formulated, researchers will be in a better position to search the literature for evidence that will support their original PICO question.”

For RNs who are training in a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program, including an online DNP program , learning how to develop a comprehensive PICOT question is essential to nurse manager competencies. DNP students study PICOT question examples to determine the best process for crafting a question and finding an answer.

Learning the PICOT Process

The PICOT process generally begins with a vague clinical query. Each element of the process helps develop a well-structured question . Once established, researchers can search for evidence that will help answer the inquiry.

The elements of a PICOT question are:

P (Patient, population or problem)

Who or what is the patient, population or problem in question?

I (Intervention)

What is the intervention (action or treatment) being considered?

C (Comparison or control)

What other interventions should be considered?

O (Outcome or objective)

What is the desired or expected outcome or objective?

T (Time frame)

How long will it take to reach the desired outcome?

Using the PICOT process helps develop a careful and thoughtful question that makes the search for evidence easier, the University of Oxford’s world-renowned Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine said.

“The well-formed question makes it relatively straightforward to elicit and combine the appropriate terms needed to represent your need for information in the query language of whichever searching service is available to you,” the University of Oxford author said. “Once you have formed the question using the PICO structure, you can think about what type of question it is you are asking, and therefore what type of research would provide the best answer.”

Steps to the PICOT Process

In developing a PICOT question , researchers must identify a need or a reason for the study. In the EBSCO Health whitepaper, the general example used is this: A committee decides to conduct a case study to determine whether postoperative gum chewing for abdominal surgery patients can prevent postoperative ileus (lack of intestinal movement).

With the scenario in mind, researchers use seven steps to the PICOT search:

Formulate the PICOT question in general terms: Based on the EBSCO Health example, the research question would be, “In patients recovering from abdominal surgery, is there evidence that suggests gum-chewing postoperatively, compared to not chewing gum, impacts postoperative ileus?”
Identify the keywords for the PICOT mnemonic: P – Patients recovering from abdominal surgery I – Gum chewing C – Not chewing gum O – Impacts post-operative ileus
Plan the search strategy: With the question in mind, researchers consider which databases and other search sites they might use to find information and answers. Researchers use strategies to maximize their search terms such as looking up synonyms and phrases that mean the same thing.
Execute a search: At first, researchers search each PICOT element individually. For example, when researching patients recovering from abdominal surgery, use the search terms “abdominal surgery,” but also consider the search terms “recovery and postoperative.”
Refine the results: Narrow the search results by limiting the works to pertinent content, such as articles from peer-reviewed journals or research documents.
Review the content: Review the research results to establish if they have the necessary information to answer the PICOT question.
Determine if research results meet standards: After reviewing the research results, determine whether they provide the best available evidence.

After the PICOT question is constructed and researched, the information garnered is used to determine which type of study is most appropriate. Study types include meta-analysis, systematic review, randomized controlled trial, cohort study, case-control study and case report.

“The actual search for high-quality clinical research evidence can be overwhelming to many,” Jensen said in the EBSCO Health whitepaper. “By utilizing the PICO format, the search process will be streamlined and will yield the best available evidence to support clinical decisions and explore alternative treatments and procedures.”

DNP and PICOT Question

To take a deep dive into advanced nursing practice, many RNs seeking a DNP must submit a final project. At Duquesne University, online DNP program students undertake a DNP Practice Project, which must focus on patient outcomes, quality improvements and clinical practice.

Through the project, Duquesne University DNP candidates will identify a specific problem in patient care or clinical practice and present solutions. Students use a PICOT question to guide the project topic.

The online DNP program at Duquesne University teaches RNs nurse manager competencies as well as other essential leadership skills . The university offers three distinct DNP tracks:

Clinical Leadership DNP
Post-Bachelor’s Executive Nurse Leadership DNP
Post-Master’s Executive Nurse Leadership DNP

About Duquesne University’s Online DNP Program

Duquesne University, a leader in online education, prepares RNs for clinical leadership positions as DNPs. The university’s curriculum builds on existing experiences and knowledge so graduates can implement evidence-based practice in clinical settings.

Duquesne University’s online DNP program provides RNs an opportunity to continue their professional career and maintain family responsibilities while earning an advanced degree.

EBSCOHealth, “7 Steps to The Perfect Pico Search” University of Oxford, “Asking Focused Questions” Duquesne University, “Systematic Reviews: Developing a research question”

Capstone and PICO Project Toolkit

Starting a Project: Overview
Developing a Research Question
Selecting Databases
Expanding a Search
Refining/Narrowing a Search
Saving Searches
Critical Appraisal & Levels of Evidence
Citing & Managing References
Database Tutorials
Types of Literature Reviews
Finding Full Text
Term Glossary

Defining the Question: Foreground & Background Questions

In order to most appropriately choose an information resource and craft a search strategy, it is necessary to consider what kind of question you are asking: a specific, narrow "foreground" question, or a broader background question that will help give context to your research?

Foreground Questions

A "foreground" question in health research is one that is relatively specific, and is usually best addressed by locating primary research evidence.

Using a structured question framework can help you clearly define the concepts or variables that make up the specific research question.

Across most frameworks, you’ll often be considering:

a who (who was studied - a population or sample)
a what (what was done or examined - an intervention, an exposure, a policy, a program, a phenomenon)
a how ([how] did the [what] affect the [who] - an outcome, an effect).

PICO is the most common framework for developing a clinical research question, but multiple question frameworks exist.

PICO (Problem/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)

Appropriate for : clinical questions, often addressing the effect of an intervention/therapy/treatment

Example : For adolescents with type II diabetes (P) does the use of telehealth consultations (I) compared to in-person consultations (C) improve blood sugar control (O)?

Framing Different Types of Clinical Questions with PICO

Different types of clinical questions are suited to different syntaxes and phrasings, but all will clearly define the PICO elements. The definitions and frames below may be helpful for organizing your question:

Intervention/Therapy

Questions addressing how a clinical issue, illness, or disability is treated.

"In__________________(P), how does__________________(I) compared to_________________(C) affect______________(O)?"

Questions that address the causes or origin of disease, the factors which produce or predispose toward a certain disease or disorder.

"Are_________________(P), who have_________________(I) compared with those without_________________(C) at_________________risk for/of_________________(O) over_________________(T)?"

Questions addressing the act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation.

In_________________(P) are/is_________________(I) compared with_________________(C) more accurate in diagnosing_________________(O)?

Prognosis/Prediction:

Questions addressing the prediction of the course of a disease.

In_________________(P), how does_________________(I) compared to_________________ (C) influence_________________(O)?

Questions addressing how one experiences a phenomenon or why we need to approach practice differently.

"How do_________________(P) with_________________(I) perceive_________________(O)?"

Adapted from: Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Beyond PICO: Other Types of Question Frameworks

PICO is a useful framework for clinical research questions, but may not be appropriate for all kinds of reviews. Also consider:

PEO (Population, Exposure, Outcome)

Appropriate for : describing association between particular exposures/risk factors and outcomes

Example : How do preparation programs (E) influence the development of teaching competence (O) among novice nurse educators (P)?

SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type)

Appropriate for : questions of experience or perspectives (questions that may be addressed by qualitative or mixed methods research)

Example : What are the experiences and perspectives (E) of undergraduate nursing students (S) in clinical placements within prison healthcare settings (PI)?

SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Intervention/phenomenon of Interest, Comparison, Evaluation)

Appropriate for : evaluating the outcomes of a service, project, or intervention

Example : What are the impacts and best practices for workplace (S) transition support programs (I) for the retention (E) of newly-hired, new graduate nurses (P)?

PCC (Problem/population, Concept, Context)

Appropriate for : broader (scoping) questions

Example : How do nursing schools (Context) teach, measure, and maintain nursing students ' (P) technological literacy (Concept))throughout their educational programs?

Background Questions

To craft a strong and reasonable foreground research question, it is important to have a firm understanding of the concepts of interest. As such, it is often necessary to ask background questions, which ask for more general, foundational knowledge about a disorder, disease, patient population, policy issue, etc.

For example, consider the PICO question outlined above:

"For adolescents with type II diabetes does the use of telehealth consultations compared to in-person consultations improve blood sugar control ?

To best make sense of the literature that might address this PICO question, you would also need a deep understanding of background questions like:

What are the unique barriers or challenges related to blood sugar management in adolescents with TII diabetes?
What are the measures of effective blood sugar control?
What kinds of interventions would fall under the umbrella of 'telehealth'?
What are the qualitative differences in patient experience in telehealth versus in-person interactions with healthcare providers?
<< Previous: Starting a Project: Overview
Next: Selecting Databases >>
Last Updated: May 22, 2024 1:39 PM
URL: https://guides.nyu.edu/pico

Member Benefits
Communities
Grants and Scholarships
Student Nurse Resources
Member Directory
Course Login
Professional Development
Organizations Hub
ONS Course Catalog
ONS Book Catalog
ONS Oncology Nurse Orientation Program™
Account Settings
Help Center
Print Membership Card
Print NCPD Certificate
Verify Cardholder or Certificate Status

Trouble finding what you need?
Check our search tips.

Writing a PICOT Question

The PICOT question is a consistent “formula” for developing answerable, searchable questions that result in an effective literature search that yields the best, most relevant information. This resource will help you to write clinically specific, searchable PICO questions.

ONS Clinical Practice Resources

Focused content to elevate your practice at the point of care, including toolkits, quick guides, discussion tools, checklists, and clinical updates.

Systematic Reviews

Getting Started
Additional Frameworks
More Types of Reviews
Timeline & Resources
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
Resources & More

PICOT Tutorials

What is PICOT - A Tutorial

Using PICOT to Formulate Your Literature Search

Librarian Profile

Developing Your Question

Developing your research question is one of the most important steps in the review process. At this stage in the process, you and your team have identified a knowledge gap in your field and are aiming to answer a specific question, such as

If X is prescribed, then Y will happen to patients?

OR assess an intervention

How does X affect Y?

OR synthesize the existing evidence

What is the nature of X?

Whatever your aim, formulating a clear, well-defined research question of appropriate scope is key to a successful review. The research question will be the foundation of your review and from it your research team will identify 2-5 possible search concepts. These search concepts will later be used to build your search strategy.

PICOT Questions

Formulating a research question takes time and your team may go through different versions until settling on the right research question. A research question framework can help structure your systematic review question.

PICO/T is an acronym which stands for

P Population/Problem
I Intervention/Exposure
C Comparison
O Outcome
T Time

Each PICO includes at least a P, I, and an O, and some include a C or a T. Below are some sample PICO/T questions to help you use the framework to your advantage.

For an intervention/therapy

In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with

Visual representation of the PICO/T Question Framework. text reads: P - Population/Problem; I - Intervention/Exposure; C - Comparison; O - Outcome; T - Time

_______(C) within ________ (T)?

For etiology

Are ____ (P) who have _______ (I) at ___ (Increased/decreased) risk for/of_______ (O) compared with ______ (P) with/without ______ (C) over _____ (T)?

Diagnosis or diagnostic test

Are (is) _________ (I) more accurate in diagnosing ________ (P) compared with ______ (C) for _______ (O)?

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ (C)?

Prognosis/Predictions

Does __________ (I) influence ________ (O) in patients who have _______ (P) over ______ (T)?

How do ________ (P) diagnosed with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O) during _____ (T)?

Melnyk B., & Fineout-Overholt E. (2010). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Ghezzi-Kopel, Kate. (2019, September 16). Developing your research question. (research guide). Retrieved from https://guides.library.cornell.edu/systematic_reviews/research_question

<< Previous: Getting Started
Next: Additional Frameworks >>
Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 11:37 AM
URL: https://libguides.wvu.edu/SystematicReviews

Evidence Based Practice

1. Ask: PICO(T) Question
2. Align: Levels of Evidence
3a. Acquire: Resource Types
3b. Acquire: Searching
4. Appraise
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Qualitative and Quantitative Sources
Managing References

Ask: Write a focused clinical question

Use the PICOT format to break down your question into smaller parts and identify keywords:

The Well-Built, Patient-Oriented Clinical Question Use this worksheet to break down the parts of your PICO question.

PICO Question Template Examples

It can be helpful to classify your question based on the clinical domain(s) it falls under.

See below for definitions, PICO templates, and example questions from the primary clinical domains: intervention , diagnosis , etiology , prevention , prognosis/prediction , quality of life/meaning , and therapy .

Intervention

Questions addressing the treatment of an illness or disability.

In _________ (P), how does _________ (I) compared to _________(C) affect _______(O) within _______ (T)? In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with _______(C) within ________ (T)?

Questions addressing the act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation.

Are (is) _________ (I) more accurate in diagnosing ________ (P) compared with ______ (C) for _______ (O)? In ________ (P) are/is ________(I) compared with ________(C) more accurate in diagnosing ________(O)?

Questions addressing the causes or origin of disease, the factors that produce or predispose toward a certain disease or disorder.

Are ____ (P) who have _______ (I) at ___ (Increased/decreased) risk for/of_______ (O) compared with ______ (P) with/without ______ (C) over _____ (T)?

Are ______(P) who have ______(I) compared with those without _______(C) at ________ risk for/of _______ (O) over ________(T)?

Questions on how to reduce the chance of disease by identifying and modifying risk factors and how to diagnose disease early by screening.

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ (C)?

Prognosis/Prediction

Questions addressing the prediction of the course of a disease.

Does __________ (I) influence ________ (O) in patients who have _______ (P) over ______ (T)? In _______ (P), how does ________ (I) compared to ________ (C) influence _________ (O) over _________ (T)?

Quality of Life/Meaning

Questions addressing how one experiences a phenomenon.

How do ________ (P) diagnosed with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O) during _____ (T)?

Questions around how to select treatments to offer our patients that do more good than harm and that are worth the efforts and costs of using them.

In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with _______(C) within ________ (T)?

Source1 Source2 Source3

Click "Next" below to start your research.

<< Previous: EBP Home
Next: 2. Align: Levels of Evidence >>
Last Updated: Nov 9, 2023 12:14 PM
URL: https://libraryguides.nau.edu/evidencebasedpractice

Evidence-Based Practice

Introduction to EBP
PICO(T) for Clinical Questions

Creating a Clinical Question: PICO / PICOTS

Picot example.

Qualitative Questions This link opens in a new window
3. Appraise
Study Design
Resources about EBP

PICO is an acronym that can help you create a well-built clinical question by identifying the key aspects of a complex patient presentation.

Patient or Population or Problem The disease or condition you are investigating, and the particular demographic you are wanting to learn about (if applicable)
I ntervention or Indicator Primary treatment option
Comparison or Control Comparison treatment (if applicable)
Outcome What you you expect to see?
Timeline**: Time it takes to demonstrate a clinical outcome or how long patients are observed.
Study Type: What kind of study would best answer this question (i.e., RCT, Case Series, etc.). Rather than using keywords in your search strategy, you can often use filters to limit to specific study types / designs. ** Note that the timeframe does not always show up in the abstract. If you aren't getting enough results, you may need to remove this from your search, and just eliminate results that don't fit your preferred timeframe in the Prisma screening section.

Patient or Problem = hypertension

KEYWORDS: hypertension, high blood pressure, hypertensive

Intervention = telemonitoring blood pressure

KEYWORDS: telemonitor, telemedicine, MeSH term is “Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory”

Comparison = n/a

Outcome = improve blood pressure

MeSH term is “Blood Pressure” (but if you are using terms for “telemonitoring blood pressure ,” this is unnecessary).

Timeframe = within one year

one year, twelve months (searching for timeframes can be tricky -- this won't find studies that were less than 12 months! If your results are too limited, you can try removing this from your search).

Potential search strategy:

or if you search everything in a single line:

Want to see an example in action? Check out the video below.

PICOT example begins at the 3:00 mark.

"Table 1" is from:

Gallagher Ford, L., & Melnyk, B. M. (2019). The Underappreciated and Misunderstood PICOT Question: A Critical Step in the EBP Process. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 16(6), 422–423. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12408

PICO Tutorial from University of Washington
Johns Hopkins EBP Question Development Tool Worksheet to help EBP teams develop an question that will answer a clinical, administrative, or knowledge problem.
PICOT Worksheet This worksheet will help you build a PICOT question and identify keywords for your searchable question.
Pubmed Clinical Queries This tool uses predefined filters to help you quickly refine PubMed searches on clinical or disease-specific topics.
The Underappreciated and Misunderstood PICOT Question: A Critical Step in the EBP Process
<< Previous: 1. Ask
Next: Qualitative Questions >>
Last Updated: May 8, 2024 12:04 PM
URL: https://researchguides.gonzaga.edu/EBP

Europe PMC requires Javascript to function effectively.

Either your web browser doesn't support Javascript or it is currently turned off. In the latter case, please turn on Javascript support in your web browser and reload this page.

Search life-sciences literature (44,118,176 articles, preprints and more)

Free full text
Citations & impact
Similar Articles

What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians.

Author information, affiliations, orcids linked to this article.

Busse JW | 0000-0002-0178-8712

The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association , 01 Sep 2012 , 56(3): 167-171 PMID: 22997465 PMCID: PMC3430448

Free full text in Europe PMC

Abstract

Free full text , what is your research question an introduction to the picot format for clinicians, john j. riva.

† Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Keshena M.P. Malik

¶ Graduate Student, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Stephen J. Burnie

‡ Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College, Toronto, Ontario.

Andrea R. Endicott

£ Senior Policy Analyst, Ontario Chiropractic Association, Toronto, Ontario.

Jason W. Busse

§ Institute for Work & Health, Toronto, Ontario.

* Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.

Introduction

PICOT Defined

The PICOT format is a helpful approach for summarizing research questions that explore the effect of therapy: 5

(P) – Population refers to the sample of subjects you wish to recruit for your study. There may be a fine balance between defining a sample that is most likely to respond to your intervention (e.g. no co-morbidity) and one that can be generalized to patients that are likely to be seen in actual practice.

(I) – Intervention refers to the treatment that will be provided to subjects enrolled in your study.

(C) – Comparison identifies what you plan on using as a reference group to compare with your treatment intervention. Many study designs refer to this as the control group. If an existing treatment is considered the ‘gold standard’, then this should be the comparison group.

(O) – Outcome represents what result you plan on measuring to examine the effectiveness of your intervention. Familiar and validated outcome measurement tools relevant to common chiropractic patient populations may include the Neck Disability Index 6 or Roland-Morris Questionnaire. 7 There are, typically, a multitude of outcome tools available for different clinical populations, each having strengths and weaknesses.

(T) – Time describes the duration for your data collection.

RCT Design Example Using PICOT

Dosage effects of spinal manipulative therapy for chronic neck pain

total number of manipulations

(P) – Population: Adults 18 to 60 years of age, with a clinical diagnosis of chronic mechanical neck pain who have not received cervical SMT in the past year. Patients with non-mechanical neck pain or contraindications to cervical manipulation will be excluded.

(I) – Intervention: Subjects randomized to have manipulation would receive standard rotary or lateral break diversified technique once, twice, or three times per week over a period of 2, 4, or 6 weeks (see Table 1 ). These subjects would also receive the same exercise regimen given to the control group to eliminate exercise as a second variable affecting outcomes.

Frequency and Duration of SMT

(C) – Comparison: A standardized supervised exercise regimen would be used as an active control group. All subjects, regardless of group assignment, would perform a standardized exercise regime at each session over a period of 6 weeks. Using this strategy, we will be able to minimize the non-specific effects due to attending a clinic.

(O) – Outcome: Changes in neck pain, measured using the 100mm VAS for pain.

(T) – Time: The outcome would be measured weekly for 6 weeks.

Other Study Designs Amenable to PICOT

what are the important research questions in the field?

what has been found?

what areas need further exploration?

would the proposed study fill a gap and better an understanding?

Clinicians should frame practice-based research questions in the PICOT format

Look to existing literature for guidance in the formulation of a research question

Clinicians have an important role in contributing to the integrated knowledge translation of research studies

Framing of a research question offers a common language between clinician and researcher discourse

Competing Interests: None.

Citations & impact

Impact metrics, citations of article over time, alternative metrics.

Altmetric item for https://www.altmetric.com/details/960599

Article citations

Molnupiravir use among patients with covid-19 in real-world settings: a systematic literature review..

Richmond DiBello J , Raziano VT , Liu X , Puenpatom A , Peebles K , Khan NF , Hill DD

Infect Dis Ther , 14 May 2024

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38743192

Systems approaches to scaling up: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence for physical activity and other behavioural non-communicable disease risk factors.

Koorts H , Ma J , Swain CTV , Rutter H , Salmon J , Bolton KA

Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act , 21(1):32, 21 Mar 2024

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38515118 | PMCID: PMC10958859

Digital health interventions for suicide prevention among LGBTQ: A narrative review.

Paudel K , Gautam K , Bhandari P , Shah S , Wickersham JA , Acharya B , Sapkota S , Adhikari SK , Baral PP , Shrestha A , Shrestha R

Health Prospect , 23(1):1-10, 11 Mar 2024

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 38645301 | PMCID: PMC11027749

Emotions and team communication in the operating room: a scoping review.

Lee H , Woodward-Kron R , Merry A , Weller J

Med Educ Online , 28(1):2194508, 01 Dec 2023

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 36995978 | PMCID: PMC10064827

Nursing Training for Early Clinical Deterioration Risk Assessment: Protocol for an Implementation Study.

Lourenço LBA , Meszaros MJ , Silva MFN , São-João TM

JMIR Res Protoc , 12:e47293, 17 Oct 2023

Cited by: 0 articles | PMID: 37847547 | PMCID: PMC10618875

Framing of research question using the PICOT format in randomised controlled trials of venous ulcer disease: a protocol for a systematic survey of the literature.

Abbade LP , Wang M , Sriganesh K , Mbuagbaw L , Thabane L

BMJ Open , 6(11):e013175, 11 Nov 2016

Cited by: 2 articles | PMID: 27836875 | PMCID: PMC5129008

The framing of research questions using the PICOT format in randomized controlled trials of venous ulcer disease is suboptimal: A systematic survey.

Abbade LPF , Wang M , Sriganesh K , Jin Y , Mbuagbaw L , Thabane L

Wound Repair Regen , 25(5):892-900, 01 Sep 2017

Cited by: 2 articles | PMID: 29080311

Association between framing of the research question using the PICOT format and reporting quality of randomized controlled trials.

Rios LP , Ye C , Thabane L

BMC Med Res Methodol , 10:11, 05 Feb 2010

Cited by: 40 articles | PMID: 20137069 | PMCID: PMC2834676

Posing the research question: not so simple.

Thabane L , Thomas T , Ye C , Paul J

Can J Anaesth , 56(1):71-79, 24 Dec 2008

Cited by: 74 articles | PMID: 19247780

Evolving the PICOT Method for the Digital Age: The PICOT-D.

Elias BL , Polancich S , Jones C , Convoy S

J Nurs Educ , 54(10):594-599, 01 Oct 2015

Cited by: 2 articles | PMID: 26431521

Europe PMC is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Getting Started
Find Articles / Databases
Find Books / Ebooks
Health Statistics
Searching Databases Tutorials
Increasing Results Tutorials
Searching for Data Tutorials
APA tutorial (6th edition)
Evidence Based Practice
PICO (T) Format
Google for Nursing
Citation Management
Streaming Video resources
Contact your Librarian!
Faculty Resources
Affordable Care Act
Nursing Fellowship Resources
Library Program Assessment This link opens in a new window
Theses/Measures
Understanding Plagiarism
Cheating and Plagiarism at CSULB
How to Avoid Plagiarism
Harry Potter tells all...
Research on COVID-19

PICO- What's in a queston?

The PICOT question format is a consistent "formula" for developing answerable, researchable questions.

Note: Not every question will have an intervention (as in a meaning question) or time (when it is implied in another part of the question) component.

PICO(T) Templates

Template for Asking PICOT Questions

For an intervention/therapy:

In _______(P), what is the effect of _______(I) on ______(O) compared with _______(C) within ________ (T)?

For etiology:

Are ____ (P) who have _______ (I) at ___ (Increased/decreased) risk for/of_______ (O) compared with ______ (P) with/without ______ (C) over _____ (T)?

Diagnosis or diagnostic test:

Are (is) _________ (I) more accurate in diagnosing ________ (P) compared with ______ (C) for _______ (O)?

Prevention:

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ (C)?

Prognosis/Predictions

Does __________ (I) influence ________ (O) in patients who have _______ (P) over ______ (T)?

How do ________ (P) diagnosed with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O) during _____ (T)?

Melnyk B., & Fineout-Overholt E. (2010). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Develop your Research Question

The PICO(T) Question

A clinical question that is composed using the PICO or PICOT format will help you to focus your search and help you to develop your research skills which are essential in finding the best available evidence.

The most common PICO(T) elements are:

P - Population

How you would describe a group of people with a similar problem or complaint.

I - Intervention

How you plan to treat, medicate, diagnose and/or observe the patient's care.

C - Comparison (if applicable)

The main intervention alternative you are considering (i.e. placebo, alternative therapy, different drug, surgery).

O - Outcome

The result from proposed treatment that is measurable, including improvement of symptoms,no symptoms, or complications.

(T) - Time (if applicable)

The time frame of treatment and/or measurable outcome.

In order be successful in using Evidence Based Practice (EBP) you will need to learn how to develop well-composed clinical questions. By formatting your research question in a PICO(T) format you can gather evidence relevant to your patient's problem. Well-composed PICO(T) questions generally contain up to four components each represented in the acronym " PICO(T)" P=Patient or Population and Problem; I=Intervention or Indicator; C=Comparison or Control (not part of all questions); O=Outcome; T=Time or Type.

<< Previous: Evidence Based Practice
Next: Google for Nursing >>
Last Updated: Jan 31, 2024 4:50 PM
URL: https://csulb.libguides.com/nursing

The PICOT Question

Why Does PICOT Matter?
What is PICOT?
PICOT Practice
PICOT & Research
Additional Resources

Jess Elder | Health Sciences Liaison

Need Assistance?

Find your librarian, schedule a research appointment, today's hours : .

Why Does It Matter?

PICOT is different from a standard, topically-based research question. It is a structured search strategy that is derived from a clinical scenario and provides a framework for asking well-worded questions. The purpose of PICO is to assist in identifying the best available evidence in order to improve healthcare outcomes. You as a clinician are translating this evidence to practice in order to assist with the decision-making process. Findings from your searches could ultimately lead to changes in a patient's treatment for a particular condition, an alteration of his or her lifestyle choices, or to a better quality of life. In gathering the best literature out there through this clinically-driven search strategy, your research can have real-life impact, and PICOT can help you get there!

NSG 3110: Pharmacology - Library Presentation Slides
Next: What is PICOT? >>
Last Updated: Jan 8, 2024 5:08 PM
URL: https://libguides.cedarville.edu/picoquestion

UNC Libraries
HSL Subject Research
Forming Focused Questions with PICO

Forming Focused Questions with PICO: About PICO

Created by health science librarians.

What does PICO stand for?

The pico framework, get help with your pico.

PICO's Limitations
PICO Examples
Other Question Frameworks

PICO: Patient / Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome

Additional letters (for PICOT, PICOS, PICOTS, PICOTTS)

T ype of study

This guide introduces the PICO question framework for evidence-based practice. It explores PICO’s history, purpose, and limitations. This guide also introduces other question frameworks and provides example questions from across many health professions.

PICO and Its History

PICO is an acronym used to remember the key components of a clinical question. Physicians first developed the PICO framework in evidence-based medicine as a way to address knowledge gaps during patient encounters. Questions could arise around a patient’s diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy, as well as around prevention strategies and patient education. Since then, PICO has become the most widely used question framework for evidence-based practice.

The Purpose of PICO

PICO is useful in academic and clinical settings. It can help you:

form a question that focuses on the most important issue for a patient or a population
identify key terms to use in a search for evidence
select results that directly relate to the situation

PICO has some limitations. The framework privileges interventions, experimental research, and dominant voices.

PICO's Limitations

Example PICO questions Use this worksheet from Sonoma State University to help you structure your PICO question. (Word doc)
Asking the Well-Built Clinical Question This guide walks you through the steps of EBP from PICO development to appraisal. Developed by UNC and Duke.

Other guides and tools:

Asking Focused Questions PICO guide from the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM)
Formulating Answerable Questions Practice developing your PICO questions here.
Next: PICO's Limitations >>
Last Updated: May 14, 2024 12:49 PM
URL: https://guides.lib.unc.edu/pico

Holman Library

Library Instruction
PICOT: Develop Your Research Question
PN (Practical Nursing) Students
BSN (Bachelor of Science) Students
Evaluate by Specific Criteria
Distinguish Source Types: Popular, Trade and Scholarly Journals
Identify & Analyze Scholarly Articles
Identify Research Study Types
Critically Appraise Research Study Methodology
Explore Topic Ideas
Start with Background Info
Construct an Advanced Search
Find Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Articles
Find Different Research Study Types
Find Web Sites
Find Images
Find Nursing Videos
Find Pharmacology Info
Find NCLEX and other Nursing Exams Test Prep
Citation Basics
Avoid Plagiarism
Create APA Citations
Synthesize Sources
APA Formatted Paper Example
Publisher: Tips on Creating a Brochure
Poster Printing
STEP 1: Use PICOT do Determine Your Research Question Components
STEP 2: Write your Research Question in PICO Format
STEP 3: Develop a Search Construction Strategy
STEP 4: Perform Searches for Evidence to Answer Your Research Question

• Use the PICOT template to construct the components of your research question • You do not always need to include all components of PICOT if it does not make sense for your topic

...Using the PICOT acronym

(P) = patient/population/problem (I) = intervention/indicator (C) = compare/control (O) = outcome (T) = time/type of study or question

...decide which type of research question you will pose (choose from below)

...write your research question using the PICOT acronym format (see formats below)

Example (intervention): In overweight women, how does an increase in exercise compared to ace inhibitors affect a reduction in blood pressure?

What is the evaluative process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or condition?

Write your research question with this PICOT acronym format:

In ________ (P) are/is ________(I) compared with ________(C) more accurate in diagnosing ________(O)?

Example:

In patients at high risk for gallbladder dysfucntion (P) is a HIDA scan (I) compared with an ultrasound (C) more accurate in diagnosing gallbladder dysfunction (O)?

What are the factors that produce or predispose an individual towards a certain disease or condition?

Are ______(P) who have ______(I) compared with those without _______(C) at ________ increased/decreased risk for/of _______ (O) over ________(T)?

Example: Are adopted children (P) who have parents with elevated BMI (I) compared with those without parents with normal BMI (C) at increased risk for obesity (O) over age 18 (T)?

Intervention / Therapy

Which treatments leads to the best outcome for the patient?

In _________ (P), how does _________ (I) compared to _________(C) affect _______(O) within _______ (T)?

Example: In middle-aged Caucasian obese females (P), how do lifestyle interventions such as healthy diet and exercise (I) compared to daily administration of ACE inhibitors (C) affect blood pressure (O) over six months(T)?

How do you reduce the chance of disease or complications by identifying and modifying risk factors?

For ________ (P) does the use of ______ (I) reduce the future risk of ________ (O) compared with _________ (C)?

Example: In OR nurses doing a five minute scrub (P) what are the differences in the presence and types of microbes (O) found on natural polished nails and nail beds (I) and artificial nails (C) at the time of surgery (T)?

Prognosis

What predicts the course, complications, or outcome of a disease or condition?

In _______ (P), how does ________ (I) compared to ________ (C) influence or predict _________ (O) over _________ (T)?

Example: In older patients with prostate cancer (P), how does choosing to undergo surgery (I) compared to not undergoing surgery (C) influence or quality of life (O) over _________ (T)?

Meaning/Patient Experience

How does a patient or group experience a phenomenon or event?

How do ________ (P) with _______ (I) perceive ______ (O) during _____ (T)?

Example: How do elderly patients in orthopedic rehabilitation (P) with separation from family (I) perceive their motivation to progress (O) during their recovery (T)?

(examples from Evidence-based Practice in Nursing: A Guide to Best Practice by Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk and Ellen Fineout-Overholt )

Determine the most relevant primary search word(s) for each of the PICO element
Then brainstorm synonyms or related concepts. As you research, add synonyms you learn about
Find Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) Articles

Case Scenario

1. There are several research questions this scenario might trigger in your mind. Read the case and think of....

research questions around the patient and potential interventions for her and patients like her
research questions around nurses and how through their own practice they might improve care for the patient and patients like her

2. For the research question you decide to focus on:

identify each of the components of PICO
write a research question in the PICO format

Muslim Patient from Saudi Arabia wearing a light green headscarf and brown jacket

Nura is a 48-year-old premenopausal, multiparous Muslim female from Saudi Arabia suffering from urinary stress incontinence; she is really hindered by the problem and just wants her normal life back.

She has been doing pelvic floor exercises on her own to improve the symptoms, following instructions on a patient education handout she got from a nurse, but she is not sure if she is actually doing the exercises correctly because no one has personally counseled her or actually showed her how to know if she is doing them correctly.

She read about pelvic floor biofeedback on the internet and wonders if that would be another thing she could try in addition to her exercises to help improve her symptoms.

She has heard of surgery for this condition and knows it could help, but is reluctant to consider it because she is very fearful about going under anesthesia before the surgery.

She is very upset and embarrassed by her incontinence, but is unsure about being treated by the physicians and nurses at the clinic because they may not have the cultural sensitivity to her faith to make her comfortable as a patient.

(adapted from Evidence-Based Practice under a (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license)

PICO Worksheet

BSN Evidence Based Practice Worksheet: PICO
<< Previous: Start with Background Info
Next: Construct an Advanced Search >>
Last Updated: May 9, 2024 3:11 PM
URL: https://libguides.greenriver.edu/nursing

NURS 3290: Nursing Research 2 - BSN Program

Accessing and Navigating Databases
Keywords and Subject Headings

Formulating a PICO(T) Question

What is a pico(t) question, tips for building a pico(t) question, ideas for your pico(t) question, example: pico(t) question and search strategy.

Database Options
Keyword Searching
Subject Heading Searching
Search History Screen Capture
Accessing Full-Text Articles
VIDEO TUTORIALS
Resources for Clinical Topic Information
APA 7th Edition Style

Asking questions is at the heart of evidence-based practice.

If nurses never asked questions about how to improve patient care based on scientific research evidence, then no beneficial changes or advancements in nursing practice would occur. Cultivating a spirit of inquiry is essential for evidence-based practice implementation.

The PICO(T) model is used widely in evidence-based practice to construct a focused, well-built, and searchable clinical question. This page provides you with the following content to guide you in developing a PICO(T) question of your own:

What is a PICO(T) Question?
Ideas for your PICO(T) Question

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a systematic approach to patient care decision-making based on current, best available research evidence.

The first step in EBP involves re-phrasing a clinical patient care issue in the form of a focused, searchable, and answerable question .

PICO(T) is a template for creating a well-built clinical question for evidence-based inquiry.

P - Patient/Population/Problem

I - Intervention/Variable of Interest

C - Comparison ("standard care" or "usual care")

O - Outcome(s)

In _____ (P), what is the effect of _____ (I), compared with _____ (C), on _____ (O) within _____ (T)?

Your required textbook provides a wealth of material for generating and brainstorming ideas for PICO(T) Questions.

Be sure to review Chapter 8 in your Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice text for ideas and examples of clinical questions for EBP.

Two copies of this book are on reserve in the Mulford Library. To use a copy in the library, please ask a staff member at the library front desk to retrieve it for you.

Helpful web resources for PICOT question ideas can be accessed below:

Johns Hopkins - EBP Exemplar Library Explore this database of EBP projects completed by clinicians. Many of these projects include good examples of PICOT questions.
PICO Questions [from University of Kansas Medical Center] This site provides examples by patient care setting under the "PICO Question Examples" section
UToledo DNP Student EBP Projects Access and read the full-text of UToledo DNP students' EBP projects. The PICOT questions utilized in these projects may provide you with inspiration and ideas for your own PICOT.
Ohio State DNP Final Projects

PICO(T) Question Example:

"In adult cancer patients experiencing fatigue (P), what is the effect of meditation (I), compared with standard care (C), on quality of life (O) within 6 months (T)?"

Building a Database Search Strategy for the PICO(T) Question:

A well-built PICO(T) question forms the basis of a database search strategy for finding research literature.
Concepts from the PICO(T) question are used to construct a comprehensive database search strategy with search terms describing each relevant component of the PICO(T).
Relevant elements of your PICO(T) question can be used to develop a "starter" list of keywords (including synonyms) to use in a database search. Most commonly, the most important parts of a PICO(T) question for searching are the P, I, and O.
After developing a "starter" list of search terms, you can then begin brainstorming your search strategy for combining terms with OR or AND, and using other techniques such as a truncation (i.e. a keyword search for letharg* will also find articles with the term lethargic or lethargy ):
<< Previous: Database Search Assignment
Next: Database Options >>
Last Updated: May 24, 2024 12:46 PM
URL: https://libguides.utoledo.edu/n3290

PICOT Research Question Generator

Welcome to the PICOT Research Question Generator! My name is Eric Heidel, PhD, PStat, and I am an Associate Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine (UTGSM) as well as an Accredited Professional Statistician. I have taught the PICOT ( Population , Intervention , Comparator , Outcome , and Time ) framework for creating research questions to thousands of medical professionals over the past 14 years (see About page; opens in new window). I created the PICOT Research Question Generator to help researchers create valid research questions using the PICOT framework.

You will be prompted below to choose one of four potential statistical objectives for your PICOT question. Then, you will enter text related to your PICOT question into text boxes that reflect each of the five PICOT components. Finally, you will click on a button and the PICOT Research Question Generator will present the following:

Your PICOT question
Your null and alternative hypotheses
Your independent variable
Your dependent variable
The statistical test used to answer your PICOT question

It should take you less than five minutes to complete the web form below. If you want to create a PICOT research question related to between-subjects, within-subjects, correlational, multivariate, interventions, prevention, prognosis, diagnosis, or etiology, please use the PICOT question examples page (opens in new window). You can also use the full version of the PICOT Research Question Generator, which will take you between 15-20 minutes to complete (opens in new window). Or, check out the page that shows how PICOT can be "mapped" onto 21 popular statistical tests by visiting the PICOT question and statistics page (opens in new window).

Please Like or Share this website on Facebook! Thank you for using the PICOT Research Question Generator!

What is the statistical objective of your PICOT question?

What is the statistical objective of your PICOT research question? Choose an option below and then select the answers that best fit your statistical objective.

The PICOT Question

Population and picot.

In the text box below, enter text describing the population for your study in general terms and click on the Submit button.

Intervention and PICOT

In the text box below, enter text describing the intervention that is being administered and click on the Submit button.

Comparator and PICOT

In the text box below, enter text describing the comparator that is being administered and click on the Submit button.

Outcome and PICOT

In the text box below, enter text describing the outcome that will be measured for in your study and click on the Submit button.

Time and PICOT

In the text box below, enter text describing the time frame for your study and click on the Submit button.

Your PICOT Question

Click on the button below to generate your PICOT question, research hypotheses, independent and dependent variables, and statistical tests.

Skip to main content
Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Your Health

Treatments & Tests
Health Inc.
Public Health

Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning

Jonathan Lambert

A close-up of a woman's hand writing in a notebook.

If you're like many digitally savvy Americans, it has likely been a while since you've spent much time writing by hand.

The laborious process of tracing out our thoughts, letter by letter, on the page is becoming a relic of the past in our screen-dominated world, where text messages and thumb-typed grocery lists have replaced handwritten letters and sticky notes. Electronic keyboards offer obvious efficiency benefits that have undoubtedly boosted our productivity — imagine having to write all your emails longhand.

To keep up, many schools are introducing computers as early as preschool, meaning some kids may learn the basics of typing before writing by hand.

But giving up this slower, more tactile way of expressing ourselves may come at a significant cost, according to a growing body of research that's uncovering the surprising cognitive benefits of taking pen to paper, or even stylus to iPad — for both children and adults.

Is this some kind of joke? A school facing shortages starts teaching standup comedy

In kids, studies show that tracing out ABCs, as opposed to typing them, leads to better and longer-lasting recognition and understanding of letters. Writing by hand also improves memory and recall of words, laying down the foundations of literacy and learning. In adults, taking notes by hand during a lecture, instead of typing, can lead to better conceptual understanding of material.

"There's actually some very important things going on during the embodied experience of writing by hand," says Ramesh Balasubramaniam , a neuroscientist at the University of California, Merced. "It has important cognitive benefits."

While those benefits have long been recognized by some (for instance, many authors, including Jennifer Egan and Neil Gaiman , draft their stories by hand to stoke creativity), scientists have only recently started investigating why writing by hand has these effects.

A slew of recent brain imaging research suggests handwriting's power stems from the relative complexity of the process and how it forces different brain systems to work together to reproduce the shapes of letters in our heads onto the page.

Your brain on handwriting

Both handwriting and typing involve moving our hands and fingers to create words on a page. But handwriting, it turns out, requires a lot more fine-tuned coordination between the motor and visual systems. This seems to more deeply engage the brain in ways that support learning.

Shots - Health News

Feeling artsy here's how making art helps your brain.

"Handwriting is probably among the most complex motor skills that the brain is capable of," says Marieke Longcamp , a cognitive neuroscientist at Aix-Marseille Université.

Gripping a pen nimbly enough to write is a complicated task, as it requires your brain to continuously monitor the pressure that each finger exerts on the pen. Then, your motor system has to delicately modify that pressure to re-create each letter of the words in your head on the page.

"Your fingers have to each do something different to produce a recognizable letter," says Sophia Vinci-Booher , an educational neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University. Adding to the complexity, your visual system must continuously process that letter as it's formed. With each stroke, your brain compares the unfolding script with mental models of the letters and words, making adjustments to fingers in real time to create the letters' shapes, says Vinci-Booher.

That's not true for typing.

To type "tap" your fingers don't have to trace out the form of the letters — they just make three relatively simple and uniform movements. In comparison, it takes a lot more brainpower, as well as cross-talk between brain areas, to write than type.

Recent brain imaging studies bolster this idea. A study published in January found that when students write by hand, brain areas involved in motor and visual information processing " sync up " with areas crucial to memory formation, firing at frequencies associated with learning.

"We don't see that [synchronized activity] in typewriting at all," says Audrey van der Meer , a psychologist and study co-author at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. She suggests that writing by hand is a neurobiologically richer process and that this richness may confer some cognitive benefits.

Other experts agree. "There seems to be something fundamental about engaging your body to produce these shapes," says Robert Wiley , a cognitive psychologist at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. "It lets you make associations between your body and what you're seeing and hearing," he says, which might give the mind more footholds for accessing a given concept or idea.

Those extra footholds are especially important for learning in kids, but they may give adults a leg up too. Wiley and others worry that ditching handwriting for typing could have serious consequences for how we all learn and think.

What might be lost as handwriting wanes

The clearest consequence of screens and keyboards replacing pen and paper might be on kids' ability to learn the building blocks of literacy — letters.

"Letter recognition in early childhood is actually one of the best predictors of later reading and math attainment," says Vinci-Booher. Her work suggests the process of learning to write letters by hand is crucial for learning to read them.

"When kids write letters, they're just messy," she says. As kids practice writing "A," each iteration is different, and that variability helps solidify their conceptual understanding of the letter.

Research suggests kids learn to recognize letters better when seeing variable handwritten examples, compared with uniform typed examples.

This helps develop areas of the brain used during reading in older children and adults, Vinci-Booher found.

"This could be one of the ways that early experiences actually translate to long-term life outcomes," she says. "These visually demanding, fine motor actions bake in neural communication patterns that are really important for learning later on."

Ditching handwriting instruction could mean that those skills don't get developed as well, which could impair kids' ability to learn down the road.

"If young children are not receiving any handwriting training, which is very good brain stimulation, then their brains simply won't reach their full potential," says van der Meer. "It's scary to think of the potential consequences."

Many states are trying to avoid these risks by mandating cursive instruction. This year, California started requiring elementary school students to learn cursive , and similar bills are moving through state legislatures in several states, including Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Wisconsin. (So far, evidence suggests that it's the writing by hand that matters, not whether it's print or cursive.)

Slowing down and processing information

For adults, one of the main benefits of writing by hand is that it simply forces us to slow down.

During a meeting or lecture, it's possible to type what you're hearing verbatim. But often, "you're not actually processing that information — you're just typing in the blind," says van der Meer. "If you take notes by hand, you can't write everything down," she says.

The relative slowness of the medium forces you to process the information, writing key words or phrases and using drawing or arrows to work through ideas, she says. "You make the information your own," she says, which helps it stick in the brain.

Such connections and integration are still possible when typing, but they need to be made more intentionally. And sometimes, efficiency wins out. "When you're writing a long essay, it's obviously much more practical to use a keyboard," says van der Meer.

Still, given our long history of using our hands to mark meaning in the world, some scientists worry about the more diffuse consequences of offloading our thinking to computers.

"We're foisting a lot of our knowledge, extending our cognition, to other devices, so it's only natural that we've started using these other agents to do our writing for us," says Balasubramaniam.

It's possible that this might free up our minds to do other kinds of hard thinking, he says. Or we might be sacrificing a fundamental process that's crucial for the kinds of immersive cognitive experiences that enable us to learn and think at our full potential.

Balasubramaniam stresses, however, that we don't have to ditch digital tools to harness the power of handwriting. So far, research suggests that scribbling with a stylus on a screen activates the same brain pathways as etching ink on paper. It's the movement that counts, he says, not its final form.

Jonathan Lambert is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance journalist who covers science, health and policy.

handwriting

A beginner’s guide to web development: 4 steps to get over the learning curve

Shot of a young designer working on a computer in an office

According to Google, as a mobile web page’s load time reaches 10 seconds , the probability of its visitors bouncing (i.e., leaving the site) increases by 123%. It turns out, it’s usually not their WiFi connection’s fault.

That’s the domain of a web developer. A good one can write code, develop and test new apps and websites, iterate on features, monitor site traffic, ensure the website isn’t bogged down with elements, and, above all else, solve problems people don’t even know they had.

UNC Kenan-Flagler’s top-ranked online MBA

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of web developers in the U.S. is expected to increase by 16% by 2032, much faster than the national average of 3% across all professions. This indicates a high demand for skilled web developers in the coming years.

Sounds complex, right? Agoric CEO Dean Tribble thinks it’s actually pretty clear cut: “At the end of the day, computers and websites are designed to be predictable. They only do things that we tell them to do.”

For him, the biggest part of becoming a web developer and getting paid the big bucks—somewhere between $73,000 and $119,000 per year on average, according to Glassdoor —is learning to tell the computer what to do.

How to learn web development in 4 steps

This roadmap outlines each step in becoming a web developer, from knowing nothing to having projects you can show future employers and clients.

1. Research which aspect of web development interests you the most

A web developer’s curiosity is the fuel that keeps them motivated. Your initial spark should be exploring and researching websites you like, in order to understand what makes them tick.

Tribble advises that you should learn how the internet, computers, data structures, and algorithms all work together. Then, decide which piece of the internet interests you the most. There are three web development specializations.

Front-end developer : This role involves positioning images, designing the navigation, and determining the site’s overall presentation. The focus is on ensuring that the site or application is easy to navigate, making it a good fit for those with a creative eye and a passion for user experience.
Back-end developer : Responsible for building and maintaining the mechanisms that process data and perform actions on websites. The focus is on data storage, security, and server-side functions, making it a good fit for people who love computers and problem-solving.
Full-stack developer : Responsible for building a website’s front-end and back-end. This role is for people who love it all, including function and feng shui.

“It’s fine to begin with learning just one aspect of web development,” says Front-End and Web Practice Lead at Coherent Solutions , Vladimir Yurkevich.

Both Tribble and Yurkevich stress that to avoid stepping on the toes of other project collaborators and ruining their code, it’s essential to know how all the moving parts of a site function from an “under-the-hood” perspective. This will expand your expertise and raise your value.

2. Learn the three main web development programming languages

No matter which side of development you’re looking to learn, you’ll typically need to know three languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript . These are the foundational languages of web development.

Think of it like you’re building a house. HTML is the framework, CSS adds visual appeal, and JavaScript furnishes it with functionality. But, there are different frameworks for JavaScript, like React, Angular, and Nodejs. Both experts agree it’s best to find resources to help you master the primary language rather than its derivatives.

On the other hand, in the same way, Latin languages like Italian and Spanish sound similar to each other, after you’ve learned the big three programming languages , these other ones might come a little easier:

Python : It offers various frameworks like Django, Flask, and web2py for building web applications.
TypeScript : Enhances JavaScript with static typing, improving code reliability.
Ruby : Also known as Ruby on Rails, this language is an open-source framework for web development.
Java : It is robust, reliable, and portable, commonly used for web applications and APIs.
SQL : Essential for managing relational databases in web applications.
Go : It is a high-level programming language designed by Google and is similar to C.
Kotlin : This language is gaining popularity for Android app development and server-side applications.

Free web development resources

Before swiping your card on a course or bootcamp, the sites below teach the art of web development and programming at a base-expert level for free.

freeCodeCamp : This 501(c)(3) public charity offers free courses that teach full-stack web development and all of the languages needed to be successful.
Interneting Is Hard : This is a set of beginner-friendly web development tutorials.
CSS Cheat Sheet : This interactive site helps you learn CSS by doing—it has buttons, code generators, scrubbers, and tutorials.
Roadmap : This site shows you the roadmap to becoming hirable and allows you to check off items as you learn them.

If you’re interested in enrolling in something with more structure, certifications, and a set amount of study hours, Fortune made a list of part- and full-time bootcamps .

3. Start building small projects, then increase the complexity

Now that you have a solid foundational knowledge of the programming skills needed to grow as a developer, it’s time to start building actual projects.

The learning curve in web development is less of a one-time hurdle and more of a constant stream of lulls and highs. Yurkevich refers to this as a learning ‘spiral,’ where you revisit and deepen your understanding of concepts as you progress, leading to a continuous upward trajectory in your learning journey.

“Web development is oscillation and iteration. It’s about going back and forth with learning and doing,” he says. For example, a web developer spends most of their time coding their ideas to reality, going back, reading documentation, watching YouTube videos, or speaking with an expert, “Then go back to your idea.”

But that’s not the stopping point, he advises, “After all that, try to increase the complexity of the problem. The joy of solving the problem will forever be engraved into your brain.”

The web development process

These are the five main stages of how you should approach not only your first few projects but all of them:

Define your project and what you aim to achieve.
Write the plan for your website or app.
Design your website with UI in mind using Figma.
Develop, test, and iterate your project.
Maintain your project and make sure there are no bugs.

If your project isn’t functioning as intended, there is a guaranteed issue with your code. Tribble advises that, in this scenario, your new goal should be understanding the root cause of the bug.

Web development projects for beginners

Remember, while these jumping-off points might sound simple, but as you spiral upward, you can expand on them, adding utility and innovation as you learn more.

Clone a website you like.
Build a weather app.
Create a landing page.
Build a multiplayer game.
Create a URL-shortening tool.
Organize your day by coding a to-do list app.
Make a quiz app.

4. Build a web development portfolio that showcases your skills

Your portfolio is a game of show, not tell. Like in most industries, hiring managers and potential clients would rather have proof that you can do the job over a paper degree.

That said, our experts encourage people to earn certifications and attend school, but you can 100% build a professional portfolio without spending all that money. There are some things to consider when putting your portfolio together.

Highlight reel : Be selective about how you treat your portfolio. Avoid throwing all your projects into it, from simple calculators to small building blocks.
Tailor it : Depending on your specialization, you want your portfolio to showcase the correct skills for your desired job.
Communication is key : One of the most important skills you can have as a web developer is the ability to communicate. Make sure to show your process of iterating and building your work examples.

Look at top names in web development, such as Charles Bruyerre, Keita Yamada, and Bruno Simon, for inspiration in building your web development portfolio.

Still on the fence?

If you can’t picture yourself as an early-years Bill Gates or as a still-in-Harvard Mark Zuckerberg, don’t worry. The spiral is about taking small steps and having a learner’s mindset.

“The biggest thing that the most successful people in this field have in common is that they built their careers doing something they love to do,” says Yurkevich.

If you don’t love web development and programming right now, that’s okay, too. He advises, “Love for [this field] is not built instantly. You have to build projects repeatedly. As a web developer, you’ll get by on getting those small wins here and there.”

If you’re still unsure where a career in web development can take you, Fortune sought the ten most in-demand jobs in the field.

Frequently asked questions

Is 3 months enough to learn web development.

Yes, you can become a qualified web developer in three months. Still, industry veterans say they learn new languages, solve new problems, and keep up with new technology even in the late stages of their careers.

Can I learn web development on my own?

Yes, you can learn web development on your own. This guide outlines the 4 steps you need to take to become a web developer.

Harvard Business Analytics Program

Mba rankings.

Best Online MBA Programs for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Accounting Programs for 2024
Best MBA Programs for 2024
Best Executive MBA Programs for 2024
Best Part-Time MBA Programs for 2024
25 Most Affordable Online MBAs for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Business Analytics Programs for 2024

Information technology & data rankings

Best Online Master’s in Data Science Programs for 2024
Most Affordable Master’s in Data Science for 2024
Best Master’s in Cybersecurity Degrees for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Cybersecurity Degrees for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Computer Science Degrees for 2024
Best Master’s in Data Science Programs for 2024
Most Affordable Online Master’s in Data Science Programs for 2024
Most Affordable Online Master’s in Cybersecurity Degrees for 2024

Health rankings

Best Online MSN Nurse Practitioner Programs for 2024
Accredited Online Master’s of Social Work (MSW) Programs for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Nursing (MSN) Programs for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Public Health (MPH) Programs for 2024
Most Affordable Online MSN Nurse Practitioner Programs for 2024
Best Online Master’s in Psychology Programs for 2024

Leadership rankings

Best Online Doctorate in Education (EdD) Programs for 2024
Most Affordable Online Doctorate in Education (EdD) Programs for 2024
Coding Bootcamps in New York for 2024
Best Data Science and Analytics Bootcamps for 2024
Best Cybersecurity Bootcamps for 2024
Best UX/UI bootcamps for 2024

Boarding schools

World’s Leading Boarding Schools for 2024
Top Boarding School Advisors for 2024

IMAGES

2.4 Developing a Research Question
Examples Of Pico Research Questions
Formulating a good research question
Home
PICO (T) Format
How to Develop a Strong Research Question

VIDEO

Pokemon Welt Song [Bass Boosted] (HQ) [German/Deutsch]
Round 1 (developing research question,some statistical terms and hypothesis test) BMSP 41
Distinguished Pharmaceutical Scientist: Dale Eric Wurster (2011)
|Developing Research Questions|Develop A Good Research Questions|Easy Notes
Standardized Communication Tool in Hospitals: PICOT Question
Research ideas, literature gaps, and research question.منين بتيجى أفكار الأبحاث ويعنى إيه سؤال بحثى؟

COMMENTS

What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians
While these considerations are clearly complex and not inclusive of the entire process, to develop a strong research question framed in the PICOT format, it is an important basis to understand both the clinical area of investigation and the current literature that exists. ... necessary to review the type and quality of research that has already ...
Formulating a PICOT Question
The word PICOT is a mnemonic derived from the elements of a clinical research question - patient, intervention, comparison, outcome and (sometimes) time. The PICOT process begins with a case scenario, and the question is phrased to elicit an answer. "The question needs to identify the patient or population we intend to study, the ...
Developing a Research Question
PICO is the most common framework for developing a clinical research question, but multiple question frameworks exist. PICO (Problem/Population, Intervention, ... To craft a strong and reasonable foreground research question, it is important to have a firm understanding of the concepts of interest. As such, it is often necessary to ask ...
Writing a PICOT Question
The PICOT question is a consistent "formula" for developing answerable, searchable questions that result in an effective literature search that yields the best, most relevant information. This resource will help you to write clinically specific, searchable PICO questions. Download PDF.
PICO
PICOT Questions. Formulating a research question takes time and your team may go through different versions until settling on the right research question. A research question framework can help structure your systematic review question. PICO/T is an acronym which stands for. Each PICO includes at least a P, I, and an O, and some include a C or ...
Research Guides: The PICOT Question: What is PICOT?
PICOT is a clinical search strategy that assists in the decision-making process in evidence-based practice (EBP). It is a specific, foreground question composed of elements that form an acronym. The P stands for patient/population/problem, the I stands for intervention or exposure, the C stands for comparison (standard of care, another ...
PICOT & Research
Research Tips. Tip #1 — Go where the research leads you. You may think you have an answer to your PICOT question before you even start. Don't let your assumptions or personal bias interfere with the research process. Tip #2 — The best sources address the entirety of your PICOT question, investigating your exact intervention and comparison.
Research Guides: Evidence Based Practice: 1. Ask: PICO(T) Question
PICO Question Template Examples. It can be helpful to classify your question based on the clinical domain (s) it falls under. See below for definitions, PICO templates, and example questions from the primary clinical domains: intervention, diagnosis, etiology, prevention, prognosis/prediction, quality of life/meaning, and therapy.
LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice: PICO(T) for Clinical Questions
This worksheet will help you build a PICOT question and identify keywords for your searchable question. Pubmed Clinical Queries. This tool uses predefined filters to help you quickly refine PubMed searches on clinical or disease-specific topics. The Underappreciated and Misunderstood PICOT Question: A Critical Step in the EBP Process.
What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for
PICOT Defined. The PICOT format is a helpful approach for summarizing research questions that explore the effect of therapy: 5 (P) - Population refers to the sample of subjects you wish to recruit for your study. There may be a fine balance between defining a sample that is most likely to respond to your intervention (e.g. no co-morbidity) and one that can be generalized to patients that are ...
PICO (T) Format
The PICO(T) Question. A clinical question that is composed using the PICO or PICOT format will help you to focus your search and help you to develop your research skills which are essential in finding the best available evidence. The most common PICO(T) elements are: P - Population
Research Guides: The PICOT Question: Why Does PICOT Matter?
PICOT is different from a standard, topically-based research question. It is a structured search strategy that is derived from a clinical scenario and provides a framework for asking well-worded questions.The purpose of PICO is to assist in identifying the best available evidence in order to improve healthcare outcomes. You as a clinician are translating this evidence to practice in order to ...
Forming Focused Questions with PICO: About PICO
form a question that focuses on the most important issue for a patient or a population; identify key terms to use in a search for evidence; select results that directly relate to the situation; PICO has some limitations. The framework privileges interventions, experimental research, and dominant voices. PICO's Limitations
A Guide for Nurses and Nursing Students
S = Setting: Sometimes you will see "S" in a PICOT framework which can stand for Setting (e.g. primary, specialty, inpatient, nursing homes, or other long-term care setting) where the study is implemented and the relevance of the study setting to real world use. You may also see "S" used for Study Design (e.g. Randomized Controlled Trial) as an ...
PICOT Question
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a systematic approach to patient care decision-making based on current, best available research evidence. The first step in EBP involves re-phrasing a clinical patient care issue in the form of a focused, searchable, and answerable question.. PICO(T) is a basic template for creating a well-built clinical question for evidence-based inquiry.
LibGuides: Nursing: PICOT: Develop Your Research Question
research questions around the patient and potential interventions for her and patients like her; research questions around nurses and how through their own practice they might improve care for the patient and patients like her; 2. For the research question you decide to focus on: identify each of the components of PICO
PICOT Questions
The PICOT question format is a consistent "formula" for developing answerable, researchable questions. When you write a good one, it makes the rest of the process of finding and evaluating evidence much more straightforward. P: Population/patient - age, gender, ethnicity, individuals with a certain disorder. I: Intervention/indicator (Variable ...
The Underappreciated and Misunderstood PICOT Question: A Critical Step
PICOT questions should not include any directional words. They will cause a biased search. ... Research questions, on the other hand, are written in the present tense. PICOT questions never include a directional term such as "increased" or "improved." Once a directional term is included, the search is biased; if you only look for ...
Formulating a PICO(T) Question
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a systematic approach to patient care decision-making based on current, best available research evidence. The first step in EBP involves re-phrasing a clinical patient care issue in the form of a focused, searchable, and answerable question.. PICO(T) is a template for creating a well-built clinical question for evidence-based inquiry.
Research Question Generator
Finally, you will click on a button and the PICOT Research Question Generator will present the following: Your PICOT question. Your null and alternative hypotheses. Your independent variable. Your dependent variable. The statistical test used to answer your PICOT question. It should take you less than five minutes to complete the web form below.
As schools reconsider cursive, research homes in on handwriting's brain
This helps develop areas of the brain used during reading in older children and adults, Vinci-Booher found. "This could be one of the ways that early experiences actually translate to long-term ...
How to learn web development in 4 steps
Organize your day by coding a to-do list app. Make a quiz app. 4. Build a web development portfolio that showcases your skills. Your portfolio is a game of show, not tell. Like in most industries ...

What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians

Keshena M.P. Malik

Stephen J. Burnie

Andrea R. Endicott

Jason W. Busse

Introduction

PICOT Defined

RCT Design Example Using PICOT

Other Study Designs Amenable to PICOT

Formulating a PICOT Question

Learning the PICOT Process

P (Patient, population or problem)

I (Intervention)

C (Comparison or control)

O (Outcome or objective)

T (Time frame)

Steps to the PICOT Process

DNP and PICOT Question

Capstone and PICO Project Toolkit

Defining the Question: Foreground & Background Questions

Foreground Questions

PICO (Problem/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)

Framing Different Types of Clinical Questions with PICO

Beyond PICO: Other Types of Question Frameworks

PEO (Population, Exposure, Outcome)

SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type)

SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Intervention/phenomenon of Interest, Comparison, Evaluation)

PCC (Problem/population, Concept, Context)

Background Questions

Writing a PICOT Question

ONS Clinical Practice Resources

Related Topics

Systematic Reviews

PICOT Tutorials

Librarian Profile

Developing Your Question

PICOT Questions

Evidence Based Practice

Ask: Write a focused clinical question

PICO Question Template Examples

Intervention

Prognosis/Prediction

Quality of Life/Meaning

Evidence-Based Practice

Creating a Clinical Question: PICO / PICOTS

Potential search strategy:

Search life-sciences literature (44,118,176 articles, preprints and more)

What is your research question? An introduction to the PICOT format for clinicians.

Abstract

Keshena M.P. Malik

Stephen J. Burnie

Andrea R. Endicott

Jason W. Busse

Dosage effects of spinal manipulative therapy for chronic neck pain

Citations & impact

Article citations

Systems approaches to scaling up: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of evidence for physical activity and other behavioural non-communicable disease risk factors.

Digital health interventions for suicide prevention among LGBTQ: A narrative review.

Emotions and team communication in the operating room: a scoping review.

Nursing Training for Early Clinical Deterioration Risk Assessment: Protocol for an Implementation Study.

Similar Articles

Framing of research question using the PICOT format in randomised controlled trials of venous ulcer disease: a protocol for a systematic survey of the literature.

The framing of research questions using the PICOT format in randomized controlled trials of venous ulcer disease is suboptimal: A systematic survey.

Association between framing of the research question using the PICOT format and reporting quality of randomized controlled trials.

Posing the research question: not so simple.

Evolving the PICOT Method for the Digital Age: The PICOT-D.

PICO- What's in a queston?

PICO(T) Templates

Develop your Research Question

The PICOT Question

Jess Elder | Health Sciences Liaison

Need Assistance?

Why Does It Matter?

Forming Focused Questions with PICO: About PICO

What does PICO stand for?

PICO and Its History

The Purpose of PICO

Holman Library

Intervention / Therapy

Prognosis