1. The Evidence-Based Practice Cycle
Evidence-Based Practice: True or False?
Nancy E. Adams, MLIS
Penn State College of Medicine, George T. Harrell Health Sciences Library
The Evidence-Based Practice Cycle
EBP means “I have data to
back this up.”
All evidence is created equal.
Assess
Ask
Acquire
Appraise
Apply
False. EBP entails a systematic search of the literature to identify the best available evidence, and appraising the evidence that is
found. Finding a research article in
support of a decision does not equate to
“evidence-based practice,” in itself.
False. Study types appearing at higher levels of the “hierarchy of evidence” provide stronger evidence of a cause-effect relationship between two variables.
Specialized EBP information sources exist in some fields, including librarianship.
EBP can be applied to humanities and the arts.
Find out how EBP intersects with the ACRL Information Literacy Standards in Higher Education:
True. For example, the Campbell Library provides systematic reviews of education, criminal justice, and social work-related
research. These information sources provide appraised information, a step beyond a bibliographic database search.
False. These disciplines are founded on a different epistemological basis and cannot be tested using the randomized controlled trial, the approach privileged—and some would say over-privileged--in EBP.