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Respiratory Care: Introduction to Research: Overview

An Introduction to research practice for respiratory care students.

What is a literature search?

A systematic and thorough search of published literature in order to collect information about a particular topic.

Why do we do literature searches?

  • Create research proposals
  • Collect evidence on effectiveness of clinical treatments
  • To make a clinical decision
  • Gather information for presentations

Steps for acquiring evidence

  1. Identify a clinical problem
  2. Define your research question
  3. Select most likely resources
  4. Design a search strategy (using PICO)
  5. Perform a search