EBP and the Library: Asking a question

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Asking a Question

Before you begin your search, you need a solid research question. 
Here are some things to keep in mind as you develop yours:

  • What topics interest you?
  • What do you already know about these topics?
  • Is your topic too narrow or too broad?
  • Is your question answerable?
  • Is your question too simple or too complex?

In EBP research, questions typically fall into one of these categories:

Therapy/Prevention How well does this treatment work to improve or prevent a disease or condition?
Diagnosis How well does this test identify or rule out a specific disease or condition?
Prognosis What will happen to people with this disease or condition over time?
Etiology/Harm What causes this disease or condition? 

 

PICO(TT)

The PICO(TT) format can be useful when developing your question. 

P: Patient, problem, or population

I: Intervention

C: Comparison

O: Outcome

T: Time

T: Type of study

 

Note that this format was first developed to answer therapy questions.  Your question may not map exactly to each category, depending on what you're researching.

Study Types

Always look for the best quality evidence available to answer your question.  The following table describes the study types that best answer the different types of questions.

Question Type Study Types
Therapy/Prevention Randomized Controlled Trial, Cohort, Meta-Analysis, Systematic Review
Diagnosis Prospective blind comparison to the current gold standard in testing
Prognosis Cohort or Case-Control, Case Series
Etiology/Harm Randomized Controlled Trial*, Cohort, Case-Control, Case Series

*Note that a randomized controlled trial is not always feasible or ethical to answer this type of question.