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Aeronautical Management and Flight Safety

Resources for studying the aviation, airport management and air traffic control disciplines at Arizona State University

What is PICO?

For any paper or thesis, a hypothesis or problem statement needs to be made. The best ones are those that provide the following information:

P = Population, Problem, Process

The population doesn't need to be human. Most often this is a problem or process that needs to be changed in some way.

I = Intervention, Inquiry, Investigation, Improvement

Possible solution

C = Comparison

Current practice, opposing viewpoints, or conditions under which P & I occur

O = Outcomes

Measuring what worked best

Asking the Searchable Question

The hypothesis or problem statement is not searched completely as stated. Most searches will focus on the problem (P) and the Improvement (I). When a comparison of two ways of doing things (C) is needed, that part becomes the 3rd concept in your search strategy. The results or outcome is not part of the search strategy.

To get up to speed on your topic you need the "who, what, where, when, why or how" 

Background | 5 Ws - Foreground | PICO

 

Who or What          equals              Population, Problem, or Process

How or Why            equals              Intervention, Investigation, or Improvement

Where or When       equals            Comparison or conditions of what you are studying

 

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We provide a wide array of tutorials on how to use the ASU Library resources.

The ASU Library acknowledges the twenty-three Native Nations that have inhabited this land for centuries. Arizona State University's four campuses are located in the Salt River Valley on ancestral territories of Indigenous peoples, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) Indian Communities, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today. ASU Library acknowledges the sovereignty of these nations and seeks to foster an environment of success and possibility for Native American students and patrons. We are advocates for the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge systems and research methodologies within contemporary library practice. ASU Library welcomes members of the Akimel O’odham and Pee Posh, and all Native nations to the Library.