Evidence-based practice is a process that involves critical thinking and evaluation of information to determine the most effective and efficient treatment for your client or community. It is a three pronged approach which takes into consideration:
Evidence-Based Model
"Evidence Based Social Work Practice is the mindful and systematic identification, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of evidence of practice effectiveness as a primary part of an integrative and collaborative process concerning the application of service to members of target client groups." -Barry Cournoyer
This guide will help you understand how and where to find evidence based information.
Use the tabs located above this box to:
Before beginning a database search for evidence based information, write out your research topic as a focused question that summarizes what you're looking for. This important step helps you articulate your thoughts and helps you identify what you need before you begin searching for information. This saves you time and helps you create a targeted and organized database search.
You will want to include some very important concepts in that focused question that summarizes your topic. The PICO mnemonic will help you identify those key concepts. These concepts will eventually translate into the search terms that will be incorporated into your database search for evidence based information.
PICO concepts:
P (Patient population) What are the patient’s most important characteristics? (Consider their age, gender, and culture) or P (Problem) What is the primary problem?
I (Intervention) What main intervention are you considering?
C (Comparison) What will the main intervention be compared to?
O (Outcome) What are you trying to accomplish?
There are many types of research studies found in the published research literature. This hierarchy of evidence represents some of the more common types of quantitative studies that you will find in databases such as PsycINFO, CINAHL, or PubMed MEDLINE.
Read the Evidence-Based Practice Statement: NASW Practice Snapshot from the National Association of Social Workers to learn more about Evidence Based Practice principles and how they apply in social work.
The best research evidence for a topic is typically found in the published research literature - which Alverno students can access through the library's databases. The PICO worksheet will help you brainstorm search terms and develop an organized search strategy.
Alverno librarians recommend these databases for finding evidence based information in Psychology: PsycINFO, PubMed MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, and CINAHL,.
You will need to use your Alverno Network ID and Password if you are logging in from off campus.
Need more information? Use the tabs located about the search box for some helpful tips.
PsycINFO provides access to citations, abstracts, and full text articles from the professional Psychology literature as well as from other related disciplines. It is found by visiting the library's Databases page and selecting Psychology & Social Work .
PsycINFO tutorials are available from APA.
To find find evidence-based reviews in PsycINFO:
This powerful and comprehensive database provides access to citations for millions of articles published in the biomedical research literature. The database has multiple features that allow users to refine a search - including Clinical Queries, which provides tools for finding evidence based resources.
First, a word of caution. PubMed MEDLINE is a free database available to anyone with an internet connection. Alverno students should always access this database through the library's website. This will provide access to publications found in Alverno's subscription databases, as well as articles available free to the public.
Tips for using PubMed's Clinical Queries:
1. Access PubMed MEDLINE through the Alverno Library's Databases page and select Healthcare..
2. From the PubMed homepage, click the Clinical Queries link located towards the center of the page and enter your search terms in the search box.
3. PubMed will apply two filters (Clinical Study Categories and Systematic Reviews) to retrieve citations for evidence based articles from its vast MEDLINE database.
4. The Clinical Study Categories column displays citations filtered to a specific clinical study category. By default, articles related to therapy will display. Use the drop down menu to change the clinical category.
5. The Systematic Review column displays citations for systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews of clinical trials, and other evidence-based resources.
6. Review the citations and click on a link to access the article's abstract. If you accessed the database through the library website, you should see a blue "Online Full-Text" icon if the article is available in an Alverno database.
7. Need help maneuvering through PubMed? Fortunately, the National Library of Medicine provides tutorials that will help you understand how to use this powerful database. Alverno librarians recommend the "Quick Tours". These are perfect for busy students and provide just the right amount of information for most research needs.
The Cochrane Library is a collection of six databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. The jewel among these databases is the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
Alverno students can access the full text Cochrane Systematic Reviews through the Cochrane Library database which is available on the library's Databases page, select Healthcare.
First, a word of caution: The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is a fairly small collection and it's possible that a Cochrane review may not exist on your topic - especially if it's obscure.
Tips for searching the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews:
1. The Cochrane Library database is fairly easy to search. Simply enter your search statement in the default search box and click "Go". Your results will include only Cochrane systematic reviews - if they exist for your topic.
2. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews labels each review as either Protocol or Review. A Protocol icon indicates a plan or set of steps to be followed in a study (the review is not complete). A Review icon indicates that the Cochrane review has been completed.
3. The Cochrane Database assigns other icons to clarify the status of a review. Definitions for each icon type are listed below:
CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) provides access to a wide range of articles published in the nursing journals. CINAHL is found on the Alverno Library's Databases page, select Healthcare.You can use the database's Advanced Search feature to limit a search to evidence based resources.
First, a word of caution. Adding Advanced Search limits to a database search lowers the number of articles you will retrieve. Be judicious when building limits into a search. Adding too many limits can result in very few or even zero articles.
Tips for using CINAHL's Advanced Search feature:
1. From the CINAHL homepage, click the Advanced Search link just beneath the search box. This will bring up a screen with multiple limits (filters) that can be incorporated into an CINAHL search. Several of these allow you to limit your search to evidence based resources only.
2. The Clinical Queries filter allows you to select and limit a search using some of the common clinical study categories.
3. The Evidence-Based Practice filter allows you to simply check a box and limit a search to evidence based resources.
4. Finally, there is a box titled Publication Type. This allows users to select and limit a search to a specific type of research study. For example, you could limit a search to Level 1 synthesis reports such as meta-analysis or systematic reviews. Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard to select more that one publication type.
