Hour 1 · SLR · Step 3 of 1520%

Question & search strategy

Frame the question. Draft the Boolean string.

~10 min

Use any free AI chat tool (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini) to frame the question with PICO or SPIDER, and to draft a Boolean string with the synonyms you'd otherwise miss. Remember: a generated string is only a starting point — it hasn't searched anything yet. Run it in the real databases, refine, and that run becomes your record.

AI prompts (3)

Prompt

PICO / SPIDER question framer

When: You have a rough topic and need a structured, reviewable research question.

You are a research methodologist helping me frame a systematic literature review question.

My rough topic: <PASTE TOPIC HERE>
My field: <e.g. education technology, public health, management>

Please:
1. Reframe the topic as a PICO question (Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). If qualitative, use SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research type) instead, and say which you chose and why.
2. List 3 alternative framings at narrower/broader scope so I can pick the right grain.
3. Flag any concept that is ambiguous and would need an operational definition before searching.

Be concise. Use bullet points.

Prompt

Boolean string builder (Scopus / Web of Science)

When: You have a framed question and want a first-draft search string with synonyms and field tags.

Act as a research librarian. Build a Boolean search string for Scopus AND a separate one for Web of Science.

Research question: <PASTE PICO/SPIDER QUESTION>
Time window: <e.g. 2015–2025>
Document types: <e.g. articles and reviews only>
Language: <e.g. English>

For each concept block:
- List synonyms, acronyms, plurals, British/American spellings.
- Use truncation (*) and phrase quoting where appropriate.
- Combine with AND between concepts, OR within a concept.
- Apply field tags: TITLE-ABS-KEY( ... ) for Scopus, TS=( ... ) for Web of Science.

Return:
1. Final Scopus string (one code block)
2. Final WoS string (one code block)
3. A short table of the concept blocks and their synonyms so I can audit your choices.

Do not invent terminology — if you're unsure about a synonym, mark it [verify].

Always run the string in the actual database and refine. The documented database run is your auditable record, not the AI conversation.

Prompt

Inclusion / exclusion criteria drafter

When: Before screening — to lock down what counts as relevant.

Help me draft inclusion and exclusion criteria for a systematic literature review.

Research question: <PASTE>
Stage where each criterion will be applied: title/abstract OR full-text (state for each).

Produce a single table with columns:
| Criterion | Type (inclusion/exclusion) | Applied at | Rationale |

Cover at minimum: population, study design, intervention/phenomenon, outcome, time window, language, document type, peer-review status. Add anything else my question implies. Keep each criterion atomic — one decision per row.