PICO/PCC Framework

What is PICO?

PICO is a framework for structuring quantitative research questions, particularly for intervention studies. It stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome.

P - Population

Define who your systematic review is about. Be specific about demographics, conditions, settings, and any other relevant characteristics.

  • Example: 'Adults aged 65+ with type 2 diabetes'
  • Consider: age range, gender, disease stage, setting (inpatient/outpatient)
  • Avoid being too restrictive unless justified

I - Intervention

Specify the intervention, treatment, exposure, or diagnostic test being investigated.

  • Example: 'Metformin 1000mg daily'
  • Include: dose, frequency, duration if relevant
  • Can be pharmacological, behavioral, or procedural

C - Comparison

Define what the intervention is compared against. This could be placebo, standard care, or another active intervention.

  • Example: 'Placebo' or 'Standard diabetes care'
  • May be optional for some review types
  • Important for assessing relative effectiveness

O - Outcome

Specify what outcomes you're measuring. Distinguish between primary and secondary outcomes.

  • Primary outcome example: 'HbA1c reduction at 6 months'
  • Secondary outcomes: 'Quality of life, adverse events, medication adherence'
  • Be specific about timing and measurement methods

What is PCC?

PCC is used for qualitative and mixed-methods reviews. It stands for Population, Concept, and Context.

P - Population

Similar to PICO, define the population of interest for your review.

C - Concept

The phenomenon, experience, or concept being explored.

  • Example: 'Experiences of stigma related to mental illness'
  • Can be abstract concepts like 'resilience' or 'coping'
  • Not limited to interventions or treatments

C - Context

The setting, cultural background, or other contextual factors relevant to the concept.

  • Example: 'Primary care settings in low-income countries'
  • Consider: geographic location, healthcare system, cultural factors
  • Helps bound the scope of qualitative reviews

Configuring in Scholara

Scholara extracts the PICO (or PCC) framework from your research question automatically when you start a new review. The PICO phase runs first; the assistant then asks any clarifying questions it needs to fill in missing fields, and produces a PICO summary that opens as an artifact in the side drawer.

During the Confirm phase you review and edit the extracted framework. You can edit any field in two ways:

  • From the side drawer — open the PICO artifact and edit fields inline
  • From the chat — tell the assistant what to change, e.g. "narrow the population to adults aged 18–65" or "add placebo as the comparator"

Once you confirm the PICO, the conversation moves to the Protocol phase, where the inclusion and exclusion criteria are built from the framework you just confirmed.

Using Framework for Search Strategy

Your PICO/PCC framework directly informs your search strategy. Each component is used to generate relevant keywords and MeSH terms during the Strategy phase.

A well-defined PICO/PCC framework makes it easier to determine which studies should be included or excluded during screening. It also helps when writing your systematic review protocol or methods section.