PO 4710: Power, Institutions, & Change (Peden)

Forming a research question takes time and may take several iterations. Your research question should be clear, concise, and arguable. It should seek to find out the whether, how, or why of something specific. There are many frameworks that you can use to take your initial research interest or knowledge gap and develop it into a focused research question.

PICO is likely the most well-used and widely known framework. PICO Stands for: 

• P  Population/Problem (who or what?) 
• I   Intervention/Exposure (what action is being taken) 
• C  Comparison (compared to what outcomes without intervention) 
• O  Outcome (what result?) 

Example: Do midsize midwestern cities (population) that build bicycle lanes (intervention) have more bicycle commuters (outcome) when compared to midsize midwestern cities without bike lanes (comparison)? 

The standard PICO framework is very helpful in quantitative and health science scenarios, but can also be adjusted slightly to accommodate reviews of qualitative information, as well: 

• P Population/Problem
• I  Phenomenon of Interest 
• C Context
• O Outcome 

Example:  Do trauma-based care practices (phenomenon of interest) in the United States child welfare system (context) improve self-worth (outcome) among teens in foster care (population)? 

• S    Setting   (where?) 
• P    Perspective (who?) 
• I     Intervention (what action is being taken?) 
• C   Comparison (compared to what other outcomes?) 
• E   Evaluation (what would determine the success of the intervention?) 

Example: What is the effect of Quit Kits to support smoking cessation (intervention) on number of successful attempts to give up smoking (evaluation) compared to no support ("cold turkey") (comparison)  for teenagers (perspective) in South Carolina (setting)? 

• E  Expectation (what is looking to be improved or change?) 
• C  Client (for whom is the change going to benefit?) 
• L  Location (where?) 
• I  Impact (Intervention - what is the change? ) 
• P  Professionals (what professionals are involved?) 
• S  Service (what kind of service or policy is involved?) 

Example: How have New Jersey (location) policymakers (professionals) supported small restaurants' (client) ability to meet takeout demand (expectation) after new plastic bag ban legislation (intervention + service) went into effect? 

This page was developed with adaptations from Rutgers University Libraries, UNC Libraries, and Cornel Libraries' LibGuides.