Types of Research Questions: Descriptive, Predictive, or Causal.

A previous Evidence in Practice article explained why a specific and answerable research question is important for clinicians and researchers. Determining whether a study aims to answer a descriptive, predictive, or causal question should be one of the first things a reader does when reading an article. Any type of question can be relevant and useful to support evidence-based practice, but only if the question is well defined, matched to the right study design, and reported correctly. .