Framing your research question

Question frameworks are used to help you turn your research question into the searches you will need for databases and search engines

COPES

COPES stands for Client-Oriented Practical Evidence Search. Unlike most frameworks, the letters of this framework aren't drawn from the categories you use to frame your question. The acronym comes from a the description of the process. COPES questions originate in daily practice. The client in this question can be an individual, or a group.

There are 5 general types of COPES questions

  • Assessment question – Does a specific client system demonstrate an identified problem or strength? / Has a specific intervention been able to achieve the desired outcomes?
  • Description question – What are my clients experiences in a given situation? (Involves techniques such as client surveys and observation by practitioners)
  • Effectiveness question – How effective is an intervention in treating your clients?
  • Prevention question – How effective is an intervention in helping your clients to avoid a problem?
  • Risk question – What is the probability of a specific outcome or consequence in given situation?

 

Client type and problem
  • What are the characteristics that define your client(s)?
  • Which of their problems are you focusing on?
  • What is the practice context in which you will apply your intended intervention?
Action: What you might do
  • Which method, strategy or intervention are you planning to use for the treatment, prevention, assessment, risk evaluation, or client survey of the problem you've identified?
Alternate course of action
  • Which alternative method, strategy or intervention are you using for comparison? (It's ok to leave this blank if you are not doing a comparison.)
What you want to accomplish
  • How are your going to define success for your chosen method, strategy or intervention? What outcomes would you expect to see?
  • How are you going to measure the degree of success?

 

Reference: Begun, A.L. (2018) SWK 3402 online coursebook: Research & statistics for understanding social work interventions. The Ohio State University, Open Educational Resources. https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/swk3402/chapter/module-2-chapter-2/ opens in a new window