Identifying the research question
Developing a well-constructed research question is one of the most important steps in a successful evidence synthesis review. Developing a research question is not always a straightforward process. You and your team have identified a knowledge gap in your field; now you should search the literature to see if this review has already been done. If the answer is no, then you can further explore the literature related to your question. Look for other reviews and literature that has been written on this topic. Use the literature you find to refine your question to narrow the focus and make it specific. Your question and the type of answers you are looking for will guide your choice on the type of evidence synthesis you will conduct.
Frameworks
Question Frameworks
A question framework provides support and structure for your evidence synthesis question.
- Systematic Review questions are typically narrow in focus and usually fit into the PICO question framework.
- Scoping Review questions are typically broader in scope than a systematic review question, and look at answering large, complex, exploratory research questions. These often do not fit into a PICO question format. JBI recommends the PCC mnemonic.
PICO
| Population, Patient or Problem | Who are the people being studied or What is the problem being looked at? What are their characteristics? |
| Intervention | What is the treatment or intervention being studied? (treat, diagnose, observe) |
| Comparison, Control or Comparator | What is the intervention compared to? (e.g. other interventions, standard treatment, no treatment) This can be optional if no comparison applies. |
| Outcome | What are the relevant outcomes and how are they measured? |
Example: Is gabapentin (intervention), compared to placebo (comparison), effective in decreasing pain symptoms (outcome) in middle aged male amputees suffering phantom limb pain (population)?
Chapter 5 of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions has more information on the defining each element of the PICO acronym.
PCC
| Population | Important characteristics of participants, including age and other qualifying criteria. |
| Concept | Use the ideas from your primary questions to determine your concept. The core concept examined by the scoping review should be clearly articulated to guide the scope and breadth of the inquiry. This may include details that pertain to elements that would be detailed in a standard systematic review, such as the "interventions" and/or "phenomena of interest" and/or "outcomes". |
| Context | May include... cultural factors such as geographic location and/or specific racial or gender-based interests. In some cases, context may also encompass details about the specific setting |
Example: What are the market, non-market, regulatory and compliance incentives or compulsory/voluntary programs (context) for farmers (participants) to adopt environmentally sustainable practices (concept)?
Source:
Aromataris E, Lockwood C, Porritt K, Pilla B, Jordan Z, editors. JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis. JBI; 2024.
SPICE
| Setting | Where is the study being undertaken? |
| Perspective | For whom? Who are the targets or participants of the study? |
| Intervention | What is the change or intervention being studied? |
| Comparison | What is the intervention being compared to? |
| Evaluation | With what result? How is the result being measured? |
Example: Example: What are the benefits (evaluation) of a doula (intervention) for low income mothers (perspective) in the developed world (setting) compared to no support (comparison)?
Source: Booth, A. (2006). Clear and present questions: Formulating questions for evidence based practice. Library Hi Tech, 24(3), 355-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830610692127
SPIDER
| Sample | The group of people being looked at |
| Phenomenon of Interest | Looks at the reasons for behaviour and decisions, rather than an intervention. |
| Design | The form of research used, such as interview or survey. |
| Evaluation | The outcome measures. |
| Research Type | Type of research. e.g. qualitative, quantitative or mixed method |
Example: What are the experiences (evaluation) of women (sample) undergoing IVF treatment (phenomenon of interest) as assessed?
Source: Cooke, A., Smith, D., & Booth, A. (2012). Beyond PICO: The SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis. Qualitative Health Research, 22(10), 1435-1443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732312452938
Further reading
There are many more frameworks that have been developed to guide develop questions which do not fit well with the dominant ones listed here. We recommend the following sites for further exploration:
James Cook University. Library & Information Service: Scoping Reviews - Define the Question.
This guide is especially well laid out and includes frameworks beyond those used for scoping reviews.
University of Maryland Libraries. Systematic Review - Framing a Research Question.
Includes a table of over 40 question frameworks. The table is derived from the below excellent book.
Foster, M. & Jewell, S. (Eds). (2022). Piecing together systematic reviews and other evidence syntheses. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 48-50, Boxes 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4.