Before you begin conducting your literature review, you need a well-defined research question.
Using the PICO format (worksheet below) can be helpful in formulating a specific research question.
For example: We want to investigate the use of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's patients who have a tremor. Your PICO question would look like this:
P (Patient) - Parkinson's patients
I (Intervention) - deep brain stimulation
C (Comparison) - no surgery
O (Outcome) - reduced tremors
Our research question would be: In Parkinson’s patients, is deep brain stimulation an effective treatment for tremor?
After creating specific and focused research question, you should conduct a basic search of the literature to answer these questions:
- What do we know?
- What do we not know? (What is the gap in the knowledge that your research question will fill)
- Why is this important?
If you do not find enough search results your question may be too narrow, and you might not find enough search results to complete your FIRE project. In this case you should:
- Consult with your FIRE mentor to determine how to broaden your search
- Consider revising your research question (can you consider a different patient population or intervention?)
If you find too many results your question may be too broad and you might have a hard time finding studies that answer your question. In this case you should:
- Consult with your FIRE mentor to determine how to narrow your search
- Consider focusing on a specific population, intervention or outcome to help focus your research question.
Conducting a preliminary search will also determine if your research question has already been answered in the literature, and whether you need to refine and further narrow your question. If you are interested in publishing your project, you need to ensure you have a novel study.
