Conducting a Literature Review

PICOT is useful for Clinical Questions about therapies and outcomes, often with a comparison.

Sample Topic:

Find evidence-based medicine on alternatives to narcotic medicating for the elderly within home settings.

​P = elderly in-home, senior, geriatric, home care  

I = cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)

C = no opiates/narcotics

O = lessened anxiety and associated behaviors (e.g. over-eating, alcohol consumption)

T = within three months

Adapted from CHLA 2021 Conference presentation

Sample Topic:

How successful was the school in generating buy-in from  Grade 8 students to join clubs and extra-curricular activities?

S = Enderby Secondary School.

P = School clubs and extracurriculars  

I = Set aside class time to take students to the fair as part of the curriculum. Set up sign-up tables and demonstrations by the various activities.

C = Previous engagement of the new Grade 8 student population in the activities.

E = How many new signups across the clubs and activities of the Grade 8 students.

Research questions framed using the SPIDER tool tend to begin with "What are the experiences of ...?"

• Best for qualitative research questions that measure attitudes and experiences rather than clinical interventions and outcomes.
• Focused more on the design of the study and less on the subjects (people or groups).

Sample Topic:

What are the experiences of doctoral nursing students in using their library?

• S = Doctoral students
• PI = Library use
• D = Survey
• E = Experiences (of using the library)
• R = Qualitative