Background:
There has long been a recognition among producers and users of Cochrane evidence that, whilst Cochrane Reviews are rich sources of information on Populations, Interventions, Comparisons, and Outcomes (PICOs), existing search methods available on the Cochrane Library and other search platforms can be quite blunt tools. For this reason, it can be hard to find PICO data that matches a given research or patient question.
In response to this challenge, Cochrane has embarked on a programme of 'PICO annotation' - the creation of PICO metadata - for Cochrane Reviews. A prototype for a Cochrane PICO search has also been created, enabling users to build PICO questions and find reviews that match the PICO specified. There is the potential for PICO search to augment current Cochrane Library search capabilities.
Research using an early prototype has shown that PICO searching on Cochrane Reviews has the potential to:
- speed up the finding of reviews relevant to a given healthcare question;
- enhance the sensitivity of searches, to ensure all relevant reviews are found;
- help understand the quality of evidence available for a given PICO;
- help understand the currency of reviews or studies available for a given PICO;
- enhance investigation of evidence for effectiveness relevant to a specific patient or to a larger population.
Research has also shown us that PICO search can make use of Cochrane data more intuitive, especially to the non-expert searcher; and that it can be used in training to improve best practice in use of evidence.

Objectives:
The objectives of the workshop will be to:
- improve understanding of how PICO searching can enhance the investigation of healthcare questions for expert and non-expert users respectively;
- test the relevance and comprehensiveness of results found using a PICO search prototype;
- understand barriers to use of PICO searching;
- gauge the intuitiveness of PICO searching.
Lessons learned from the workshop will contribute to potential future PICO search interface development.

Description:
Participants will run a series of sample searches, to validate the performance of the PICO search prototype against:
- speed of review of search results;
- sensitivity of search;
- intuitiveness of PICO search principles;
- intuitiveness of the prototype interface.
Participants should bring a laptop.