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School of Nursing - EBP

What is PICO?

CINAHL

*Uncheck the "Suggest Subject Terms" box before using the PICO search!


 

*Screenshot of EBSCO's PICO widget

Tips & Tricks

The EDS PICO widget is a simple tool that provides users a form for parsing their search terms according to the PICO framework, and mapping those terms to an EDS search expression.

  • Required Fields: Population/Problem, Intervention
  • Optional Fields: Comparison, Outcomes
  • Submit: users must click on the submit button to execute the PICO search in EDS
  • Reset: clears the form
  • Help: displays this page

  1. Start your search using broad or simplified terms to describe a condition or intervention; in many cases, these will be automatically mapped to the more specific descriptors in each database.
  2. PICO searches should be focused on matters of therapy, diagnosis, or prognosis. [2] Use the EDS/CINAHL Basic or Advanced search for basic research questions.
  3. Do not include Boolean operators in your PICO search (and, or).
  4. Once you've submitted your initial search, use the EDS/CINAHL facet and limiter tools to further refine or expand your search results. Remember, PICO is a tool to get you started, but there are many other tools within EDS/CINAHL that help you refine your results.