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Module 1.1 Introduction – Formulate a clinical question

doctor searching on mobile phone
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

In a typical patient encounter, many possible clinical questions may arise. This book aims to help you answer clinical questions using the Evidence Based Practice framework.

To answer your clinical question using a focused and efficient search of evidence in the literature, you need to:

  • Translate a knowledge gap into a well built clinical question (WBCQ)
  • See what type of question you have
  • Work out what type of study design will best answer your question

This module shows you how to work through each of these steps, so you have everything you need to start your search. Remember, this process will become quicker as you gain practice!

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Answering Clinical Questions Copyright © 2025 by The University of Western Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.