In this first component of the Course Project, you formulate questions to address a particular nursing issue or problem.
You use the PICOT model—patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome—outlined in the Learning
Resources to design your questions.
To prepare:
Review the article, “Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question: A Review of the Frameworks,” found in the
Learning Resources for this week. Focus on the PICOT model for guiding the development of research questions.
Review the section beginning on page 75 of the course text, titled, “Developing and Refining Research Problems” in the
course text, which focuses on analyzing the feasibility of a research problem.
Reflect on an issue or problem that you have noticed in your nursing practice. Consider the significance of this issue
or problem.
Generate at least five questions that relate to the issue which you have identified. Use the criteria in your course
text to select one question that would be most appropriate in terms of significance, feasibility, and interest. Be
prepared to explain your rationale.
Formulate a preliminary PICO question—one that is answerable—based on your analysis. What are the PICO variables
(patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome) for this question?
Note: Not all of these variables may be appropriate to every question. Be sure to analyze which are and are not relevant
to your specific question.
Using the PICOT variables that you determined for your question, develop a list of at least 10 keywords that could be
used when conducting a literature search to investigate current research pertaining to the question.
To complete:
Write a 3- page paper that includes the following:
A summary of your area of interest, an identification of the problem that you have selected, and an explanation of the
significance of this problem for nursing practice
The 5 questions you have generated and a description of how you analyzed them for feasibility
Your preliminary PICOT question and a description of each PICOT variable relevant to your question
At least 10 possible keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search for your PICOT question and a
rationale for your selections