Knowledge Synthesis and Covidence

A well-formulated research question is answerable and clearly defines the scope of the review. You can use a research question formulation framework to help you distil your question into a more answerable form that is focused and searchable on various databases. 

The most widely known framework is PICO:

• Population/Patient/Problem
  • What are the patient characteristics or disease characteristics that is being looked at?
• Intervention
  • What treatment is being looked at?
• Comparison
  • What is the current gold standard or alternative treatment option? It is also common for the comparison to be 'usual care.'
• Outcome 
  • What is the measurable goal? For example, improved outcome, reduced adverse effect or symptom.

PICO doesn't fit every possible type of research question, but there are alternatives. The links below provide more information about alternative frameworks that may better fit other question types such as qualitative, policy-focused, or general questions.

For most knowledge synthesis projects, it is recommended to publish your protocol before beginning the review. For systematic reviews, this is a requirement. By planning and considering each step of the review process from conception to publication, you can proactively address potential issues. Even if your review type does not require a protocol, it is still advisable to create one. 

A protocol outlines the reason why you're conducting the review and gives a detailed overview of the methods that will be used. PROSPERO is a good option for health science topics. Cochrane and JBI have their own separate processes for reviewing review protocols. An alternative option is the Open Science Framework (OSF). 

Example Protocols

Systematic Review:

Xiao Z, Baldwin MM, Meinck F, Obsuth I, Murray AL. The impact of childhood psychological maltreatment on mental health outcomes in adulthood: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis Syst Rev. 2021;10(1):224. Published 2021 Aug 12. doi:10.1186/s13643-021-01777-4.

Scoping Review:

Cassidy CE, Beck AJ, Conway A, et al. Using an integrated knowledge translation or other research partnership approach in trainee-led research: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 2021;11(5):e043756. Published 2021 May 25. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043756 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8154946/

By clearly and explicitly defining what words and phrases are relevant to your research question and what are not helps ensure that all team members are on the same page when it comes to the screening process. After deciding on your research question, come up with the eligibility criteria before you begin developing your search queries as the eligibility criteria will inform your search strategy.