How to write a quantitative or qualitative question
Use caseA quantitative question names a number. A qualitative question names an experience. Do not mix them in one sentence.
What do I actually do?
Quantitative: how large is the change, in which people, against which comparison. Qualitative: what do these people say the experience is. A question that asks both will not survive screening.
What are the steps?
- Pick one kind. A count, or an account. Not both in the first sentence.
- Name the unit. A patient, a paper, an interview, a school. The unit is what you will extract.
- Name the comparison. Quantitative questions need one. Qualitative questions name the setting instead.
- Write an example answer. If you cannot sketch the answer in one line, the question is still a topic.
What does PICO Portal Individual do at this step?
PICO Portal Individual searches either question. It does not decide which kind you are running. Write that in the protocol.
How long does this take for one person?
Count the records first. A quantitative question names a number. A qualitative question names an experience. Do not mix them in one sentence. The time follows the count, not the size of a team.
What do I write down before I stop?
The rule, the date, and the count. Quantitative: how large is the change, in which people, against which comparison. Qualitative: what do these people say the experience is. A question that asks both will not survive screening.
Do I need a second reviewer?
Not to start. PICO Portal Individual does not score a second reviewer. If the protocol asks for dual review, a second person sees the same record.
What is the usual error?
A file with no reason. Quantitative: how large is the change, in which people, against which comparison. Qualitative: what do these people say the experience is. A question that asks both will not survive screening.
How do I know this step is done?
The count matches the records. If a flow-diagram box would not match, the step is not done.
What goes in the methods?
The rule, the date, and the count. A reader must be able to open the same record.
Can I skip this step?
No, if you will call the work a systematic review. If you skip it, write what you did. Do not hide the gap.
What if I cannot finish?
Stop. Write how far you got. Records you did not screen are not exclusions.
What does a supervisor check?
The rule, a sample of decisions, and the passage.
What is outside this step?
A guideline panel, a CRO, and a GRADE meeting. PICO Portal Individual searches either question. It does not decide which kind you are running. Write that in the protocol.