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Conduct Evidence-Based Practice Research

What is evidence-based practice?

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an approach to decision-making that combines high-quality evidence, professional expertise, and the preferences and values of the individuals or populations served.

The evidence-based practice movement began in medicine but has since been adopted by many disciplines, including social sciences and education, as researchers and practitioners strive to deliver high-quality services based on solid evidence.

Why evidence-based practice?

  1. Eliminates bias: EBP is based on using high-quality evidence, rather than solely on one practitioner’s opinions or experience.
  2. Enhances decision-making: EBP helps practitioners make more informed decisions by requiring practitioners to critically evaluate their methods, asking questions such as "Why are we using this method?" or "Is this decision based on high-quality evidence?"
  3. Lowers costs: EBP helps professionals focus on what has been proven to work, which can help prevent the use of interventions that are not based on evidence, thereby lowering costs.
  4. Helps practitioners stay current: EBP professionals stay informed and current in their fields.
  5. Ensures higher client satisfaction: Practitioners who consider their clients' preferences and values are more likely to make decisions that align with their clients' needs.

Steps in Evidence-Based Practice

1. Ask a question.

Create a PICOT question (Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, Time). Although PICOT was developed for the health sciences, it is still useful for other disciplines that use EBP, as each research question will incorporate the five components in slightly different ways.

PICOT Example in Social Work

Initial Question: How can we reduce anxiety in seniors who attend the senior center?

Question Breakdown:

  • Patient/Population: Low-income seniors
  • Intervention: Expert-led nature walk at a local park
  • Comparison: Nature talk at the senior center
  • Outcome: Reduced anxiety
  • Time: 4 hours after the nature walk (optional)

PICOT Question: Does an expert-led nature walk at a local park, compared to a nature talk within the senior center, reduce anxiety in low-income seniors?

2. Acquire evidence.

Once you have created a PICOT question, the next step is to find evidence in different types of studies. The infographic below illustrates the hierarchy of various study types and the corresponding level of evidence.

hierarchy of evidence

Database Recommendations

Library databases contain high-quality evidence, such as systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort studies, and observational studies. Be aware that not all topics have been covered in systematic reviews or randomized controlled trials, so you must work with the evidence that is available on your topic. Most databases that contain peer-reviewed journal articles will be good sources for evidence-based practice research. Start with the links below to find key EBP databases:

How to Search

Turn your PICOT question into a keyword search string. Initial question: How do we reduce anxiety in seniors who come to the senior center? Here is an example of a simple keyword search string:

Seniors AND anxiety AND nature

Next, find synonyms for your keywords:

Senior* OR "senior citizens" OR elderly

AND

anxiety OR nervous* OR worry OR concern

AND

nature OR "nature exposure" OR "nature walk*"

Use the database's Advanced Search feature to implement this longer search string.

Quotation marks around a set of words will make the database search for those words as a phrase. The asterisk (*) is a truncation symbol that asks the database to look for word variations, e.g., nervous* will look for nervous and nervousness. Use database limiters such as peer-reviewed, date, and type of study to narrow your search. See our Develop a Search Strategy guide for more help.

Library Hack

Limit your results to systematic reviews and other review articles. Use source type or document type limiters (found on the results page) and select review or literature review to narrow your results to systematic, scoping, and other reviews.

3. Appraise the evidence.

Critically evaluate the evidence for its validity, impact, and applicability. When appraising evidence, consider the following:

  • Validity: Is the study design appropriate and well-conducted?
  • Impact: What are the results, and are they significant?
  • Applicability: Can the results be applied to your patient or client group?

Check with your instructor or course to see if they have specific appraisal tools they want you to use.

Like this guide or have feedback on it? Let us know!


evidence based practice venn diagram

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