Subject Librarian
Writing Research Questions
In the health sciences, the PICO model can be used to write research questions. The letter "P" stands for population, problem, or patient. The letter "I" represents the intervention or exposure. The letter "C" stands for the comparison group. Lastly, the letter "O" represents the outcome.
Example:
In the United States, do financial incentives increase COVID vaccination rates?
P (population): persons living in the United States
I (intervention): financial incentives
C (control group): not specified, but no financial incentives
O (outcome): increased COVID vaccinations
Developing a Search Strategy
To develop a search strategy, identify the main concepts and brainstorm for alternate keywords. Then, begin to connect your keywords.
Booleans
| Connector | Example | Retrieves |
| AND | incentives AND COVID AND vaccinations | Results will contain all the terms. |
| OR | COVID OR coronavirus | Results will contain either term. |
| NOT | vaccines NOT influenza | Eliminates a term from results. |
Finding Background Information
Use these sources to gain familiarity with your topic, narrow your research question, provide context, and identify experts.
- Find It @ USC LibrariesSearch for articles, books, and more or limit to USC Libraries collection.
- Annual Reviews This link opens in a new windowProvides full-text access to critical review articles that synthesize the primary contributions in the areas of biomedical, physical, and social sciences.