Table 1.

FINER criteria for a good research question and PICOT criteria to construct the framework of the study and to aid protocol development. Adapted from ^{(22, 23)}

FINER Criteria		PICOT criteria
Feasible	Adequate number of subjects Adequate technical expertise Affordable in time and money Manageable in scope	Population	What specific patient population is targeted?
Interesting	Investigators, peers and community are interested in the outcome of the study	Intervention	What is the investigational intervention?
Novel	New finding or confirms, refutes or extends previous findings	Comparison group	What is the correct comparison group for the intervention?
Ethical	Will be approved by institutional review boards and FDA (if IND is needed)	Outcome	What is the intended aim/outcome of the study?
Relevant	To scientific knowledge To clinical and health policy To future research	Time	What is the appropriate time to assess the outcome?