Nursing Research

One way to develop a health sciences research question is through making a PICOT question. The acronym stands for population, variable of interest. comparison, outcome, and time. Check with your professor to find out if these are the same criteria you need to focus on for your project, as there are other versions of PICOT that leave out or change meanings (such as PICO without the time element, or PICOTS with an additional criteria for setting).

Population

The first component of a PICOT question is the population that you are hoping to study. This may include information such as age, sex, race, and/or patients with specific conditions.

(Variable of) Interest

The next component is the variable of interest (formerly known as the intervention). This is similar to an independent variable, though it is not always introduced into the patients' lives by the researchers. An example could be a new medication given to a group of participants or seeing if a group who engaged in a particular activity (such as smoking) are at higher risk of a particular condition.

Comparison

The next component is comparison, which is simply what the variable of interest is compared against. This is normally either standard treatments, or other treatments for the same condition. In the second scenario above, which mentioned smoking as a variable of interest, non-smokers may be the comparison or control group.

Outcome

The next component is the outcome. This is what you expect to observe at the end of your research. For example, seeing if patients' symptoms were reduced through use of a new medication.

Time

The final required section for a PICOT question is time. This is simply how long the study covers. For example, did the researchers check in with participants once after a few days or several times across months or even years.

Does taking a vitamin D or calcium supplement on a daily basis impact the frequency of bone fractures in children?

Population: children

Variable of Interest: supplement use

Comparison: vitamin D vs. calcium supplements

Outcome: bone fractures

Time: daily doses

Search (PubMed)

Here is one way you could word this search, which would search for anything mentioning vitamin D or calcium:

((("Fractures, Bone"[Mesh]) AND "Vitamin D"[Mesh]) OR "Calcium"[Mesh]) AND "Child"[Mesh]

Here is another way, as that first search included articles that didn't have to do with supplement use:

((("Fractures, Bone"[Mesh]) AND "Vitamin D"[Mesh]) OR "Calcium"[Mesh]) AND "Child"[Mesh] AND "daily supplement*"

Search (CINAHL)

Here is one way you could phrase a search in CINAHL. Note that when searching CINAHL you need to add synonyms to your search:

(children or kids or youth or child) AND ("bone fracture*" or fractures) AND (daily) AND ("vitamin d supplements" or "vitamin d supplementation") OR ("calcium supplementation" or "calcium supplements")

For both versions of the search, it is important to review articles for the study type, publication year, as well as any other criteria set by your professor.

The following are a few tips for troubleshooting your search for articles based on a PICOT question:

• If your comparison is standard care, try leaving your comparison out of the search bar. Most studies will not include the standard procedure/outcomes in the keywords for the study, so adding them to the search may remove relevant results.
• If your population is 'standard adults' where you don't want to narrow your search beyond adults you may want to leave population information out of the search bar entirely. This tip may not always be relevant however, for example if you get a bunch of pediatrics results adding 'adult' to your search may be useful.
• Be careful with wording the outcome. It may be wise to leave descriptor words (like higher, lower, improved, etc.) out of the search, as different studies may use different terms when reporting outcomes.
• Use AND, OR, & NOT to help structure your search. You can learn more about these tools along with other search tips on the Searching for Articles page.
• If you are still struggling, consider leavng time out of the search bar. Like comparison and population, this is not always documented in the text PubMed and CINHAL search through and may severely limit the number of results you get from a search.

Do adults who are exposed to dust on a frequent basis suffer respiratory complications at a higher rate compared to those who are exposed to less dust after years of exposure?

Population - adults

Variable of Interest - exposure to dust

Comparison - non-exposure to dust

Outcome - respiratory issues

Time - years

Search (PubMed)

Here is one way to search for this question, leaving comparison and time off as explained in the troubleshooting tips:

(("Signs and Symptoms, Respiratory"[Mesh]) AND "Dust"[Mesh]) AND ("adult"[All Fields])

Search (CINAHL)

Here is how you might structure the same search in CINAHL, leaving population off as also suggested in the troubleshooting tips:

(dust) AND (respirat* OR breath*)