Skip to Main Content

Systematic Review Service

Partnering with MSK community members interested in systematic and related reviews

Define Your Research Question

Example of a focused and a broad research questionSystematic reviews require a focused research question, often developed using one of the frameworks in the box below. 

A well-developed research question will inform the entirety of your review process, including:

  • The development of your inclusion and exclusion criteria.
  • The terms used in your search strategies.
  • The tool(s) used to assess the quality of included studies.
  • The data pulled from the included studies.
  • The analysis completed in your review.
  • The target journal(s) for your review's publication.

If your question is too broad, you may have trouble completing the review. If your topic is too narrow, there may not be sufficient literature to warrant a review.

How the MSK Library Can Help

One of the first conversations you will have with your MSK librarian will be about your topic.

Your MSK librarian will:

  • Work with you to determine whether a systematic review on your topic has been published or planned by searching databases like PubMed, Embase, and Epistemonikos and registries like PROSPERO, Protocols.io, and Open Science Framework (OSF) Registries.
  • Ask you for a sample set of relevant publications (also known as seed articles) that you know you want your review to capture. This helps provide a better sense of the scope of your research question. If your topic is too broad or narrow, your MSK librarian can help improve the focus. This sample set will later inform the construction of the search strategy.

Using a Question Framework

PICO is a model commonly used for clinical and healthcare related questions, and is often, although not exclusively, used for searching for quantitively designed studies. 

Example question: In elderly patients, does patient handwashing compared to no handwashing impact rates of hospital-acquired infections?

P Population Any characteristic that define your patient or population group.  Elderly people
I Intervention What do you want to do with the patient or population? Handwashing
C Comparison (if relevant)  What are the alternatives to the main intervention? No handwashing
O Outcome Any specific outcomes or effects of your intervention. Hospital-acquired infection rates

Richardson, W.S., Wilson, M.C, Nishikawa, J. and Hayward, R.S.A. (1995). "The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions." ACP Journal Club, 123(3),  A12.

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library. 

PEO is useful for qualitative research questions.

Example question: In homeless populations, do addiction services impact housing rates?

Population/Problem/Patient Who are the users - patients, family, practitioners or community being affected? What are the symptoms, condition, health status, age, gender, ethnicity? What is the setting e.g. acute care, community, mental health? homeless persons
Exposure Exposure to a condition or illness, a risk factor (e.g. smoking), screening, rehabilitation, service etc. drug and alcohol addiction services
Outcome Experiences, attitudes, feelings, improvement in condition, mobility, responsiveness to treatment, care, quality of life or daily living. rates of homelessness

Moola S, Munn Z, Sears K, Sfetcu R, Currie M, Lisy K, Tufanaru C, Qureshi R, Mattis P & Mu P. (2015). "Conducting systematic reviews of association (etiology): The Joanna Briggs Institute's approach." International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 13(3), 163-9. Available at: 10.1097/XEB.0000000000000064.

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library. 

PCC is useful for both qualitative and quantitative (mixed methods) topics, and is commonly used in scoping reviews.

Example question: What patient-led models of care are used to manage chronic disease in high income countries?

Population "Important characteristics of participants, including age and other qualifying criteria. You may not need to include this element unless your question focuses on a specific condition or cohort." N/A.  As our example considers chronic diseases broadly, not a specific condition/population - such as women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
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."

Chronic disease

Patient-led care models
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." High income countries

Peters MDJ, Godfrey C, McInerney P, Munn Z, Tricco AC, Khalil, H. "Chapter 11: Scoping Reviews" (2020 version). In: Aromataris E, Munn Z (Editors). JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis, JBI, 2020. Available from  https://synthesismanual.jbi.global.   https://doi.org/10.46658/JBIMES-20-12

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library.

SPIDER is a model useful for qualitative and mixed method type research questions.

Example question: What are young parents’ experiences of attending antenatal education?

S Sample The group you are focusing on. Young parents
P of I Phenomenon of interest  The behaviour or experience your research is examining. Experience of antenatal classes
D Design How the research will be carried out? Interviews, questionnaires
E Evaluation What are the outcomes you are measuring? Experiences and views
R Research type What is the research type you are undertaking?  Qualitative

Cooke, A., Smith, D. and Booth, A. (2012)."Beyond PICO: the SPIDER tool for qualitative evidence synthesis." Qualitative Health Research, 22(10), 1435-1443.

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library. 

SPICE is a model useful for qualitative and mixed method type research questions. 

Example question: Does mindfulness therapy in a counseling service impact the attitudes of patients diagnosed with cancer?

S Setting The setting or the context Counseling service
P Population or perspective Which population or perspective will the research be conducted for/from Patients diagnosed with cancer
I Intervention The intervention been studied Mindfulness based cognitive therapy
C Comparison  Is there a comparison to be made? No comparison
E Evaluation How well did the intervention work, what were the results? Assess patients attitudes to see if the intervention changed their quality of life

Example question adapted from: Tate, KJ., Newbury-Birch, D., and McGeechan, GJ. (2018). "A systematic review of qualitative evidence of  cancer patients’ attitudes to mindfulness." European Journal of Cancer Care, 27(2), 1-10.

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library. 

ECLIPSE is a model useful for qualitative and mixed method type research questions, especially for questions examining particular services or professions.

Example question: Can cross-service communication impact the support of adults with learning difficulties?

E Expectation Purpose of the study - what are you trying to achieve? How communication can be improved between services to create better care
C Client group Which group are you focusing on? Adult with learning difficulties
L Location Where is that group based? Community
I Impact If your research is looking for service improvement, what is this and how is it being measured? Better support services for adults with learning difficulties through joined up, cross-service working
P Professionals What professional staff are involved? Community nurses, social workers, carers
S Service  Which service are you focusing on? Adult support services

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library. 

You might find that your topic does not always fall into one of the models listed on this page. You can always modify a model to make it work for your topic, and either remove or incorporate additional elements.

The important thing is to ensure that you have a high quality question that can be separated into its component parts.

Question framework content adapted from The University of Plymouth Library.