- John Ruskin (1875)
Before you start searching, take some time to think about what information gap you are trying to fill, or what question you are trying to answer.
It can be useful to ask essential questions:
Search concept tools, also known as analytical tools, can help you to define the question you are asking. These are often used in a clinical or health research context.
PICO(s) for Clinical questions
| Population / Patient | People with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease |
| Intervention | Music therapy or Singing or Making music |
| Comparison | Standard care or treatment as usual |
| Outcome | Improved communication |
| Study design | e.g. Clinical trials, qualitative methods |
Richardson WS, Wilson MC, Nishikawa J, Hayward RS. The well-built clinical question: a key to evidence-based decisions. ACP J Club. 1995 Nov 1;123(3):A12-3.
SPICE for service questions
| Setting | Hospital |
| Perspective | Nurses |
| Intervention | Information skills education |
| Comparator |
None |
| Evaluation | Improved decision-making |
Booth, A. (2006). Clear and present questions: formulating questions for evidence based practice. Library Hi Tech, 24(3), 355-368. doi:doi:10.1108/07378830610692127
SPIDER for qualitative questions
| Sample | Young parents |
| Phenomenon of Interest | Antenatal education |
| Design | Questionnaire or focus group |
| Evaluation | Experiences |
| Research Type | Qualitative or mixed methods |
Cooke A; Smith D; Booth A; Beyond PICO : The SPIDER Tool for Qualitative Evidence Synthesis – Qual Health Res. 2012; 22(10) 1435-1443
Information specialists at the University of Leeds have helpfully presented a list of search concept tools and the originating articles where they were proposed and tested.
In this paper the authors combined the terms (S AND PoI) AND ((D OR E) AND R), but comment that this was perhaps too narrowing as the qualitative literature may not always include the word 'qualititative'
We recommend that if using the SPIDER framework to construct your search strategy, for a more sensitive search combine (S AND PoI) AND (D OR E OR R).