Subject and Research Guides: Evidence-Based Practice (EBP): Ask a Question

Ask A Question

PICO table

Can also use PICOT where T = type of question (eg: therapy) or T = Type of study (RCT or Cohort)

PICO clarifies the question, determines search concepts and type of study that is most appropriate to answer the question type.

PICO Worksheet
A printable worksheet to help you ask focused clinical questions and structure search terms.

Clinical findings: how to properly gather and interpret findings from the history and physical examination.
Etiology: how to identify causes for disease (including its iatrogenic forms).
Clinical manifestations of disease: knowing how often and when a disease causes its clinical manifestations and how to use this knowledge in classifying our patients’ illnesses.
Differential diagnosis: when considering the possible causes of our patient’s clinical problem, how to select those that are likely, serious and responsive to treatment.
Diagnostic tests: how to select and interpret diagnostic tests, in order to confirm or exclude a diagnosis, based on considering their precision, accuracy, acceptability, expense, safety, etc.
Prognosis: how to estimate our patient’s likely clinical course over time and anticipate likely complications of the disorder.
Prevention: how to reduce the chance of disease by identifying and modifying risk factors and how to diagnose disease early by screening.
Experience and meaning: (for qualitative research) how to empathize with our patients’situations, appreciate the meaning they find in the experience and understand how this meaning influences their healing.
Self-improvement: how to keep up to date, improve my clinical and other skills and run a better, more efficient clinical practice

A short video looking at foreground versus background questions, the types of clinical questions, and the best study types to answer them.