{"id":8580,"date":"2024-04-22T09:51:20","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/?page_id=8580"},"modified":"2026-03-17T13:36:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T18:36:52","slug":"evidence-based-practice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/onlineresources\/library-guides\/evidence-based-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"Evidence-Based Practice (an introduction)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Evidence-based practice is a common approach many professionals take to ensure that their work follows ethical, legal, and effective guidelines by operating using formally studied methods. Levesque (2018) describes <strong>evidence-based practice as \u201cmaking decisions involving practice by using scientific findings and processes rather than intuition\u201d and \u201chas spread essentially to all major fields.\u201d <\/strong>Following evidence-based practice helps professionals defend their words and actions,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When questioned why they have said or done something<\/li>\n<li>When considering the best actions (as part of professional development)<\/li>\n<li>When determining the most efficient approach<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>According to Franz and Mertz (2020), <strong>evidence-based practice includes six tasks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>identifying a problem<\/strong> \u2013 when a knowledge gap arises<\/li>\n<li><strong>researching the literature<\/strong> \u2013 particularly scientific literature describing the needed information<\/li>\n<li><strong>critiquing the evidence<\/strong> \u2013 reviewing the literature to determine if it is scientifically sound<\/li>\n<li><strong>formulating recommendations<\/strong> \u2013 synthesizing the information from the literature to determine the strongest scientific studies<\/li>\n<li><strong>implementing practice changes<\/strong> \u2013 using the information to make changes in practice<\/li>\n<li><strong>evaluation<\/strong> \u2013 determining the effectiveness of changes and if further research or changes are needed<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>These evidence-based practice concepts may be identified in Southern Arkansas University\u2019s (2023) information literacy learning goal (ULG4):<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">\u201cInformation literacy is the ability to determine the nature of required information, to access it effectively and efficiently, and to evaluate it critically. It includes the responsible, legal, and ethical use of information.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These same information literacy concepts are recognized in other professional organization guidelines. According to the Association for College and Research Libraries &#8211;\u00a0<strong>Information literacy<\/strong>\u00a0is defined as a set of abilities requiring individuals to \u201crecognize when\u00a0information\u00a0is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed\u00a0information\u201d (ACRL, 2000).<\/p>\n<p>Professionals must use both information literacy knowledge and skills to use evidence-based practice. They also need to cite and reference their evidence-based practice resources. Professionals use formal writing styles to document the authoritative resources supporting their claims and actions in the form of <a href=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/onlineresources\/library-guides\/citation-resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">citations and references<\/a>. An example of a common professional writing style used amongst professionals is the American Psychological Association\u2019s <em>Publication Manual<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">References<\/p>\n<p>Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). (2000). <em>Information literacy competency standards for higher education<\/em>. ALA: Chicago, IL. Retrieved from: https:\/\/alair.ala.org\/bitstream\/handle\/11213\/7668\/ACRL%20Information%20Literacy%20Competency%20Standards%20for%20Higher%20Education.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y<\/p>\n<p>Franz, J., F., &amp; Mertz, L. (2020). Evidence-based practice. In J. L. Longe (Ed.), <em>Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine<\/em> (6th ed.). Gale. https:\/\/search.credoreference.com\/articles\/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NjQyMTA=?aid=102746<\/p>\n<p>Levesque, R., J. R. (2018). Evidence-based practice. In R. J. R. Levesque, <em>Encyclopedia of Adolescence<\/em> (2nd ed.). Springer Science+Business Media. https:\/\/search.credoreference.com\/articles\/Qm9va0FydGljbGU6NDc4MTQ4MQ==?aid=102746<\/p>\n<p>Southern Arkansas University [Author\/Producer]. (2023). <em>Undergraduate Catalog<\/em>. https:\/\/catalog.saumag.edu\/index.php?catoid=2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Evidence-based practice is a common approach many professionals take to ensure that their work follows ethical, legal, and effective guidelines by operating using formally studied methods. Levesque (2018) describes evidence-based practice as \u201cmaking decisions involving practice by using scientific findings and processes rather than intuition\u201d and \u201chas spread essentially to all major fields.\u201d Following evidence-based&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/onlineresources\/library-guides\/evidence-based-practice\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":2783,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-8580","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8580"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8586,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8580\/revisions\/8586"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/library\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}