Research Question Builder

Start with what you want to learn clinically. ScholarRounds will turn the pieces into a focused research question, objective, and hypothesis.

Build the question in two steps.

You do not need perfect research language. First choose the kind of question you are asking, then describe the people, exposure or intervention, comparison, and outcome in plain language.

What are you trying to learn?

Choose the question type that best matches the clinical idea. This changes the framework and wording below.

Therapy / interventionDoes an intervention improve an outcome compared with another approach? Etiology / risk factorIs an exposure or characteristic associated with an outcome? Diagnostic accuracyHow well does a test identify a target condition against a reference standard? PrognosisDoes a patient factor predict a future clinical outcome? Descriptive / prevalenceHow common is something, or what does it look like in a defined population?

Describe the question in plain language.

Short phrases are enough. Be specific where it matters; ScholarRounds will handle the research wording.

PICO framework: Population · Intervention · Comparator · Outcome

PPopulation — who are you studying?Define the patient group, condition, and setting. Add age or timing only if it changes the question.

IIntervention — what are you doing?Name the intervention clearly enough that another researcher could identify the exposed group.

CComparator — what is the alternative?optionalUse usual care, another treatment, no exposure, or another clinically meaningful reference group.

OOutcome — what result matters?Choose one primary outcome for the question. Secondary outcomes can be added later in the study design.

Add the required fields above before building the question.

This tool helps structure a research idea. It does not determine feasibility, novelty, statistical validity, or whether the proposed design can answer the question.