A well-built clinical question is directly relevant to patient care and helps guide searching for evidence-based answers. There are generally four components of a good clinical question--represented by the acronym PICO, or sometimes, PICO(T).
P - Patient, population or problem of interest
I - Intervention - therapy, diagnostic test, exposure, etc.
C - Comparison intervention, if relevant
O - Outcome(s) of interest
T - Time or duration
For example, consider the question: "What's the best form of birth control?" In this example, the "best" is subjective - you'll need to restate your question in the PICO format to get a clinical answer.
P - Best birth control for whom? Teenagers? Women who have already given birth?
I - Which specific methods are you examining? Condoms? Implanted hormonal methods?
C - Which other option will you compare this intervention to? Condoms compared to an IUD is a different question than condoms compared to no birth control at all.
O - Pregnancy is an obvious outcome of concern, but what about side effects? How frequently or effectively the patient uses the method?
T - Is there a time frame for this option, or duration for efficacy or treatment?
The PICO(T) format will help you translate your question from an initial broad topic or individual patient's experience, to a concrete, objective question that you can find clinical evidence to answer.