Scientific articles in the health sciences tend to be structured similarly, in the IMRAD format. IMRAD is an acronym that stands for:
I = Introduction & Importance : the authors make a case for the research. What do we know about the subject and why is this research important?
M = Methods: the authors explain how they conducted their research
R = Results: the authors describe their findings and the outcomes of the research
and
D = Discussion: the authors discuss findings, explain how it relates to other research, discuss limitations of the study and directions for future research.
P=Problem or Patient
I=Intervention or Indicator
C=Comparison
O=Outcome
PICO questions can fall into the following categories:
Therapy/Prevention
Therapy/Treatment
Diagnosis
Etiology/Causes
Prognosis
Frequency or rate
Phenomenon