Abstract
OBJECTIVES
At the end of this chapter, the reader will be able to:
O Define the two broad question types involved in systematic reviews (SRs)
O List domains or subcategories of foreground clinical questions
O List some study designs/methodologies best suited to answer different types of foreground questions
O Identify subject terms or subject headings from select databases (e.g., Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature [CINAHL] and MEDLINE) useful for limiting search results to specific study designs and methods
O Develop an appropriate, meaningful, feasible clinical question suitable for an SR
CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
O The SR process is methodical, beginning with a clinical/research (foreground) question. In a single SR, there are usually a series of questions or research subquestions as well, but for the sake of clarity, this chapter is focused primarily on a single foreground question.
O Addressing background questions allows reviewers to gather facts toward constructing a focused, answerable clinical/research (foreground) question.
O Foreground questions guide SRs and deal with patient/population/phenom-ena of interest and their relationship to an intervention (diagnostic, therapeutic , laboratory value) or outcome.
O Common types of foreground questions include diagnosis/screening, etiology/causation/risk factor, therapy, prognosis, harm, economic evaluation , and meaning.
O Some databases such as CINAHL and MEDLINE add labels or subject headings to articles in the database. Specific study designs and methodolo-gies can be subject headings (also called index terms or controlled vocabulary); use them to limit or focus searches and/or search results.
O In this chapter both MEDLINE and PubMed, a mega database that includes MEDLINE, are mentioned; see Chapter 6 for more on differences between PubMed and MEDLINE.