When you are satisfied with your research question and the limits that you will impose, it is time to break it down into various search components. This involves extracting the most important parts. Subsequently, you will use these search components when you identify search terms and make a strategy of how you will carry out the search.

In some cases, various frameworks like PICO, PEO, or SPIDER are used for this. You can read more about the various frameworks on the next page, 2.6 Deep dive: Frameworks.

Tip! To structure your questions and organize your information, you can use a mind map or ask yourself the following questions:

Who is to be studied?
What is to be studied?
In which context?

Examples based on the research question/problem:

“Youth with ADHD and their experiences of school”

Who/what is to be studied? Youth with ADHD

What is to be studied? Experiences

In which context? School