Quick Takes in Clinical Research

The research question: a first, essential step in study design

Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Received: 29 July 2025
Published: 22 January 2026
361
Views
545
Downloads
23
HTML

Authors

Dear Editor,
The process of building and refining a research question is the first and most important step in the study design, since a research question that is not well considered makes the subsequent work a waste of time...

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Stone P. Deciding upon and refining a research question. Palliat Med 2002;16:265-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/0269216302pm562xx

Hulley SB, Cummings SR, Browner WS, et al. Designing clinical research. Philadelphia, PA, USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007.

Brian Haynes R. Forming research questions. J Clin Epidemiol 2006;59:881-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2006.06.006

Farrugia P, Petrisor BA, Farrokhyar F, Bhandari M. Practical tips for surgical research: research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Can J Surg 2010;53:278-81.

Lipowski EE. Developing great research questions. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2008;65:1667-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp070276

Bland JM, Altman DG. One and two sided tests of significance. BMJ 1994;309:248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.309.6949.248

How to Cite



The research question: a first, essential step in study design. (2026). Italian Journal of Medicine, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/itjm.2026.2130