HSE Library: Searching systematically: ASK

A focused, answerable question

Is your question quantitative or qualitative? Different frameworks can help you define your question

Is your question about

Epidemiology, Diagnosis, Therapy, Prognosis, Screening, Treatment Benefits, Treatment Harms or Cost effectiveness?

Knowing what type of question you want to answer will help you determine what type of research studies you will include in your literature review.

Your chosen framework can also be used to develop your inclusion/exclusion criteria and organise your search terms (see search planning form in "Documenting your search" tab above).

Examples of study types include:

Systematic Review: “a high-level overview of primary research on a particular research question that tries to identify, select, synthesize and appraise all high quality research evidence relevant to that question in order to answer it”.

Randomised Controlled Trial: Comparison between group of patients exposed to a treatment or intervention and a control group (evaluates effectiveness of the intervention)

Cohort Study: Two groups of patients (cohorts) one of which has received the exposure being studied and the other not. (measures incidence and cause of disease)

Case Control Study: Set of patients with defining characteristic of interest is selected and compared with controlled group without characteristic. (potential cause of disease)

Case Report or Case Series:

PICO

Patient/Population/Problem: What are the patient's demographics? For example the patient's age, gender or ethnicity? Or what type of problem is it? For example a disease, a medical condition?

Intervention/Exposure: What type of intervention is being considered? For example : type of medication, exercise program or rest? Or is it an exposure, for example : domestic violence, disease or disorder?

Comparison (this part can be left out if no comparisons are being made): are you comparing the intervention/exposure to an other treatmen/exposure? Can it be treatment as normal or placebo or another specific intervention?

Outcomes: What is the desired effect? you would like to see? What effects are not wanted? Are there any side effects involved

Study types: What study types will you include in your review? All types? Observational ? Trials ? Systematic reviews?

Not all parts of the PICO have to be used, Alternative frameworks include:

PEOS (population/exposure/outcomes/study types),

PICOCS (Population/Intervention/Comparison/Context/Study types)

PEOCS (Population/Exposure/Outcomes/Context/Study types)

For example

CLIP framework

CLIP is often used for topics relating to health management, policies or economics.

CLIP

Client – who is the service aimed at?
Location – where is the service located?
Improvement – what do you want to find out?
Professional – who is involved in providing/improving the service?

SPIDER FRAMEWORK

The SPIDER framework, is designed using the PICO tool as a starting point and has been created to develop effective search strategies for qualitative and mixed-methods research.

Sample (S): What are the patient's demographics eg age, gender and ethnicity? Or what type of problem is it?

Phenomenon of Interest (PI): The how and why of certain behaviours, decisions, and individual experiences

Design (D) What is the study design?

Evaluation (E): What would be the desired effect you would like to see? What effects are not wanted? Attitudes and views?

Research types: What study types will you include in your review? qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods?

For example

CLIP OR ECLIPSE

ECLIPSE is often used for topics relating to health management, economics or policies.

ECLIPS(E)

Expectation - what is the information needed for?
Client Group -who is the information needed for e.g. health managers, GPs, patients
Location - where is the client group or service located?
Impact - what change in the service, if any, is being looked for? What would constitute success? How is this being measured?
Professionals - what health professionals are involved in the service?
Service - for which service are you looking for information? For example, outpatient services, nurse-led clinics, intermediate care.

Concept Search Framework

If your topic or question does not fit into an existing framework, you can divide your question into concepts as it will help you formulate your search and clarify your keywords.