Select WHD 2024 Resources List WHD 2024 Resources List
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PRISMA 2020 Guidelines
The PRISMA 2020 guidelines provide a comprehensive framework for reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses, ensuring transparency and completeness.
Flow Diagram
The flow diagram depicts the flow of information through the different phases of a systematic review. It maps out the number of records identified, included and excluded, and the reasons for exclusions.
Research Question
Characteristics of a Good Research Question
Clear and Specific: A good question avoids ambiguous language and is specific enough to guide the search and review process.
Focused and Answerable: The question should be structured so that it can be answered based on existing studies.
Relevant to Field and Audience: It should address a knowledge gap or practical need in the field.
Framework-driven: Using frameworks like PICO for clinical research, SPICE for evaluating interventions, or SPIDER for qualitative research can help define the question’s focus.
Framework Examples for Structuring Research Questions
PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome)
- Population: Who are you studying?
- Intervention: What is the main intervention being tested?
- Comparison: What are you comparing the intervention against?
- Outcome: What are the expected outcomes?
SPICE (Setting, Perspective, Intervention, Comparison, Evaluation)
- Setting: Where is the research taking place?
- Perspective: Who is affected or involved?
- Intervention: What is the intervention or factor being investigated?
- Comparison: What is the alternative to the intervention?
- Evaluation: What are the expected results or outcomes?
SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type)
- Sample: Who is involved?
- Phenomenon of Interest: What is being studied?
- Design: What is the study design?
- Evaluation: How will outcomes be assessed?
- Research Type: Qualitative or quantitative?
Examples of Broad vs. Narrow Research Questions
Broad Questions
Useful for an initial exploratory phase but generally too vague for a systematic review:
- Broad Clinical Question: “What are the effects of physical activity on mental health?”
- Broad Education Question: “How do digital learning tools impact student performance?”
Narrow Questions
These are specific, structured, and answerable within a systematic review, ideal for using frameworks like PICO:
- Narrow Clinical Question (using PICO): “In adults with depression (Population), does aerobic exercise (Intervention) compared to no physical activity (Comparison) improve mental health outcomes, specifically mood and anxiety levels (Outcome)?”
- Narrow Education Question (using SPICE): “In urban high school settings (Setting), how do teachers’ (Perspective) perceptions of digital learning platforms (Intervention) compare with traditional teaching methods (Comparison) in terms of student engagement and academic outcomes (Evaluation)?”
In summary, a strong research question provides clear boundaries for the review, making it easier to develop search strategies, define inclusion/exclusion criteria, and ensure findings are both relevant and manageable.