Background research can help:

• Clarify definitions
• Investigate concepts you may not fully understand
• Identify keywords and phrases associated with your topic
• Develop an initial understanding of the existing literature  

Example: if your research topic relates to COPD therapies, during this step you might seek to answer general background questions such as: 

• What are the COPD etiotypes?
• Does management of COPD differ across etiotypes and/or stages?
• What are the current recommended therapies for COPD?

How to conduct background research

Library catalogue

Start by searching for your topic in the Library catalogue. You can use a variety of sources, such as those listed below. 

• Textbooks
• Encyclopaedias
• Dictionaries

Library Catalogue

Clinical decision support tools

For clinical topics, check tools such as UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, and the Australian Medicines Handbook. E.g. if you are researching a new therapy for COPD, try searching for COPD in UpToDate and viewing the guidance on diagnosis and staging, management etc.

Visit the Library website for a full list of clinical support tools and information on how to access them onsite and remotely.  

Clinical Decision Support Tools

Tip: While viewing topics in UpToDate or BMJ Best Practice, check the references section for any relevant papers.

AI tools

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools can also help you quickly gain an overview of a topic and identify gaps in research. Visit Expand search and see the section on AI search tools for more information on how to use AI tools, along with a matrix of tools recommended by the Library.

Expand search - AI tools

Collect highly relevant articles

As you explore your research topic, it is useful to keep track of any highly relevant articles that you come across. These papers can be used in subsequent stages of the search process to:

• help identify relevant search terms
• test that your search will find these papers, as this is an indication that your search is effective

Look out for these highly relevant papers while conducting background research. Such papers may also be recommended by subject matter experts, supervisors, or peers.  

Tip: If you find a highly relevant paper, check its reference list for any additional relevant papers. Consider papers based on their relevance at this stage, rather than other factors such as when it was published.

The importance of an answerable question

Developing a clear and answerable research question makes it quicker and easier to find papers relevant to your topic. A clear question:

• defines the parameters or scope of your search
• identifies essential concepts such as the population of interest
• helps you to select appropriate places to search

PICO question framework

The PICO acronym is widely used as a framework that helps to structure your clinical question and ensure that it is clear and answerable. PICO stands for Patient/Population, Intervention/Indicator, Comparison/Control, and Outcome.

When is PICO appropriate?

PICO is best suited to questions of clinical effectiveness, e.g. In Patient Group, is Therapy A more effective than Therapy B at treating Condition X?

If your research question has a different focus -- such as prevalence, risk, experiential data, or cost-effectivenes -- see the Other question frameworks section below for alternative frameworks for building your question.

Using PICO - with examples

To use PICO -- or an alternative question framework -- think carefully about your research topic and define each letter or concept. To start, define your 'P' by determining which specific patient group or population you are focusing on (e.g. adults 65+ with stable COPD), and so on. Be as specific and explicit as possible to create an effective PICO.

Clinical examples using PICO

How to create PICO questions about diagnostic tests

PICO Variations

In PICOT, the 'T' is for a specified time period, e.g. "over 5 years" or "24 hours after surgery". It can also be a type of study -- e.g. qualitative study -- or test.

Here, the 'S' stands for study type or study design. Depending on your question, certain study types may be more appropriate clinical evidence than others. E.g. RCTs for therapy questions.

 The 'C' is for context (or place), e.g. "the ED", "teaching hospitals", or "high-income countries".

If your research topic is not related to clinical effectiveness, it may be better suited to one of the question frameworks below instead of PICO.

The below frameworks may be more suitable for questions relating to service improvement, cost-effectiveness, or similar.

Qualitative Research

These frameworks may be more appropriate for qualitative questions, such as those investigating experiences or perspectives.

For more information on alternative question frameworks including examples, visit the guide below from the University of London.

University of London - Question Framework Guide

After developing a clear research question, consider whether your search will be more comprehensive or more targeted. Read on to learn more about the differences between each approach and the practical implications for your search process.

Comprehensive vs. targeted 

Put very simply, these terms equate to the size of the 'net' that you use to 'catch' relevant literature during your search. 

The more comprehensive your search, the bigger your net.          The more targeted your search, the smaller your net. 
                                                                                

For example:

• A comprehensive literature search on the effectiveness of therapies for stable COPD would find papers on any therapy used to treat stable COPD in any patient. The search would find a very high number of papers relevant to this broad scope.
• A targeted literature search on the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation in the management of stable COPD in older adults would find papers focused on this specific topic. The search would find fewer papers -- and you would miss papers on e.g. other therapies for stable COPD -- but the papers found are likely to be highly relevant to this narrow scope. 

Should your search be comprehensive or targeted?

This decision is usually based on the nature of your research and practical considerations such as time or resource constraints. Review the tables below for more information about when to use which approach. Tip: In some cases it may be easier to 'rule out' one approach as unsuitable. 

Comprehensive search

Targeted search