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University of Sunderland Library

Systematic Searching

A guide to the process of conducting a systematic search for research papers

Deciding on your research question

Before you commence your systematic review it is essential that you develop a clear, focussed and answerable research question.

A clear research question will help you to:

  • identify the search terms
  • develop a robust, systematic search strategy
  • define the inclusion and exclusion criteria

Your project supervisor will be able to guide you when deciding on a research question.

Question frameworks

Using a question framework can help you to clarify your research question. There are a number of different frameworks which are usually identified by an acronym such as PICO, PEO or SPICE. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to use a question framework.

Beneath the slides are four videos that talk through the worked example slides.

These four videos talk through an example of each of these frameworks in more detail