Selecting a topic for a literature review can be challenging, but there are a few things you can consider to help you choose an interesting and relevant topic:
Cronin, P., Ryan, F. & Coughlan, M. (2008). Undertaking a literature review: A step-by-step approach. British Journal of Nursing, 17(1), 38-43
When developing a searchable question, it helps to identify the key concepts of your research proposal. A clear and precise search question can be used to develop search terms during the literature searching process.
There are a number of frameworks available to use to help you break your question into its key concepts. Take a look at the frameworks below.
From BMJ Best Practice:
The PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator and Outcomes) model captures the key elements and is a good strategy to provide answerable questions.
Population: who are the relevant patients or the target audience for the problem being addressed?
Example: In women with non-tubal infertility
Intervention: what intervention is being considered?
Example: …would intrauterine insemination…
Comparator: what is the main comparator to the intervention that you want to assess?
Example: …when compared with fallopian tube sperm perfusion…
Outcomes: what are the consequences of the interventions for the patient? Or what are the main outcomes of interest to the patient or decision maker?
Example: …lead to higher live birth rates with no increase in multiple pregnancy, miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy rates?
How to clarify a clinical question. (n.d.). BMJ Best Practice. Retrieved October 26, 2022, from https://bestpractice.bmj.com/info/us/toolkit/learn-ebm/how-to-clarify-a-clinical-question/
From "Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question":
Setting: What is the context for the question? The research evidence should reflect the context or the research findings may not be transferable.
Perspective: Who are the users, potential users, or stakeholders of the service?
Intervention: What is being done for the users, potential users, or stakeholders?
Comparison: What are the alternatives? An alternative might maintain the status quo and change nothing.
Evaluation: What measurement will determine the intervention’s success? In other words, what is the result?
Davies, K. S. (2011). Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question: A Review of the Frameworks. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 6(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.18438/B8WS5N
From "How CLIP became ECLIPSE":
Expectation—what does the search requester want the information for (the original ‘I’s)?
Client Group
Location
Impact: what is the change in the service, if any, which is being looked for? What would constitute success? How is this being measured?
Professionals
Service: for which service are you looking for information? For example, outpatient services, nurse-led clinics, intermediate care
Wildridge, V., & Bell, L. (2002). How CLIP became ECLIPSE: A mnemonic to assist in searching for health policy/management information. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 19(2), 113–115. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1471-1842.2002.00378.x
The PICO framework is one of the more commonly used question frameworks in EBP.