Clear and present questions: formulating questions for evidence based practice
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to provide an overview and update of thinking in relation to the theory and practice of formulation of answerable research questions within evidence based information practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews the healthcare and information literature on question formulation, augmented by structured and purposive internet searches.
Findings
Although a few key authors have published extensively on all aspects of the evidence‐based information practice process, including question formulation, there is little in the way of empirical research.
Research limitations/implications
In the absence of an empirical research base from within the specific domain of information practice, this conceptual paper extrapolates findings from healthcare research to general librarianship.
Practical implications
This article models the process of question formulation using a proposed conceptual framework (SPICE) and encourages practitioners to identify their own practice‐based questions.
Originality/value
This is the first article specifically to address question formulation for a general (i.e. non‐health) library audience.
Keywords
Citation
Booth, A. (2006), "Clear and present questions: formulating questions for evidence based practice", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 355-368. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830610692127
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited