UToledo DNP Student Library Research Hub

Your PICOT question will serve as the foundation of your literature search strategy for your EBP project literature review, by utilizing the key terminology from your PICOT components as database search terms. Use the following PICOT Search Strategy Worksheet to brainstorm keywords and search terms, and craft your search strategy.

For guidance in developing a search strategy to find evidence in support of your PICOT question, contact your Nursing Librarian Jodi Jameson for assistance (jodi.jameson@utoledo.edu, 419.383.5152) or to schedule an appointment. 

PICO(T) Question Example: 

"In adult cancer patients experiencing fatigue (P), what is the effect of meditation (I), compared with standard care (C), on quality of life (O) within 6 months (T)?" 

Building a Database Search Strategy for the PICO(T) Question: 

• A well-built PICO(T) question forms the basis of a database search strategy for finding research literature.
• Concepts from the PICO(T) question are used to construct a comprehensive database search strategy with search terms describing each relevant component of the PICO(T). 
• Relevant elements of your PICO(T) question can be used to develop an initial list of keywords (including synonyms) to use in a database search. The most important parts of a PICO(T) question for searching are the P, I, and O. 
• After developing a list of search terms, you can then begin brainstorming your search strategy for combining terms with OR or AND (this is called Boolean logic), and using other techniques such as truncation (i.e. a keyword search for letharg* will also find articles with the term lethargic or lethargy) or quotes (i.e. a keyword search for "guided imagery" will find articles with that exact phrase)