Five steps to writing a Knowledge Summary

The first step to writing a Knowledge Summary is writing an answerable question.

To do this we use the PICO method:

P-Patient orPopulation

I-Intervention(s)

C-Comparison

O-Outcome

For help on writing your question please refer to our EBVM Toolkit 1.

A well-formed answerable question will help ensure all of the relevant articles are found and will reduce the chance of leaving anything important out. It will also make it relatively straightforward to identify appropriate search terms and to combine them in the search strategy.

The definition of any adjective used in a PICO (eg, ‘large’ dog) may vary from source paper to source paper. We ask authors to clearly define their terms at the outset in the Clinical Scenario section. We acknowledge that definitions will vary between Knowledge Summaries.

If you use terms such as ‘improved outcome’, or ‘X is better than Y’, then please clearly define ‘outcome’ or ‘better than’ in the Clinical Scenario section.

We also have a list of online Clinical queries for you to choose from, which have been submitted to us by the veterinary community via our online form.

Once you have your question, please make sure you then contact the Editorial Office before writing or submitting your Knowledge Summary, and for more information and guidance.

Where a Knowledge Summary aims to compare either Product A with Product B, or Investigation A with Investigation B, then this should form the basis of the search strategy (it does not matter if primary research additionally contains a Product / Investigation C and D, but A and B must be directly compared). Alternatively it should be made clear where Product A, or Investigation A, are simply being compared against placebo.

Our library team helps all Knowledge Summary authors in creating their search strategy, giving access to papers, and in searching the literature for free. Contact us to get started.

They will help you to develop a systematic search strategy so you can logically search the scientific literature for suitable studies.

Source papers need to be wholly published in English if they are to be compared in a Knowledge Summary. If only the Abstract of the source paper is in English, then it should only be referenced in the Appraisal - it cannot be used in the assessment of the strength of evidence for whatever the PICO is about.

You can use the EBVM Toolkit 2 (Finding the best available evidence), to help you identify synonyms and other related terms.

The search strategy date should be no older than 2 months at the point of submission. Searches can be rerun by our library team if needed.

What if there is insufficient or zero evidence to answer my clinical question?

If no primary research literature is found following a search of the literature then that is an important finding. Particularly if it is an important and common question that can have a high impact on patient care. The value of finding a lack of evidence (little or no published literature) is often underestimated and overlooked - it is a key finding to drive further research and informs the current knowledge or lack of.

We are of the stance that a Knowledge Summary with no evidence or not enough evidence is still a valuable outcome that should be shared with the community. Visit our Strength of Evidence page to view all published Knowledge Summaries categorised by the strength of evidence found.

Examine the quality of the study, as well as how well it relates to the clinical situation - are the findings relevant to your clinical setting/situation?

EBVM Toolkit 3 introduces the ‘levels of evidence’ a study provides, and EBVM Toolkit 4 can help you identify the study design.

As part of your Knowledge Summary you will be asked to write a clinical bottom line. The following guidance will help you to write this section: Guidance for writing the Clinical Bottom Line

Write your Knowledge Summary using a downloadable template fromVeterinary Evidence. This will help you reach a clinical bottom line, as well as key points from each study, appraisal and reflection upon these findings in clinical practice.

For more guidance on writing your Knowledge Summary, see Guidance on Scientific Writing.