When searching for information to assist with clinical or research questions you will need to locate evidence-based practice resources. The information below provides an introduction to the evidence-based practice concept.
Evidence Based Practice was first defined by Dr David Sackett in the 1990s, but a more recent definition has it as
“integrating the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and the patient’s unique values and circumstances” (Straus, Glasziou, Richardson, & Haynes, 2011).
And "it also requires the health professional to take into account characteristics of the practice context in which they work" (Hoffman, Bennett, & Mar, 2016, p. 4).
The best research evidence is usually from relevant research that has been carried out using sound methodology.
Evidence-Based Practice has been expanded from Evidence-Based Medicine to apply to other health professions including Dentistry.
There are various ways of listing the steps in the Evidence-Based Practice process, but a common way has 5 main steps:
| 1 | Expressing the problem as a clinical question (Ask the question) |
| 2 | Finding evidence-based resources that answer the question (Acquire the evidence) |
| 3 | Critically appraising the evidence to assess its validity (Appraise the evidence) |
| 4 | Applying the evidence (Apply the evidence) |
| 5 | Re-evaluating the evidence and its application (Re-evaluate the evidence) |
Evidence Based Practice Library resource guide created by the Charles Sturt University Library:
There are two broad types of evidence: secondary and primary.
We list secondary first because in Evidence-Based Practice it is the higher level of evidence and will probably be what you seek first in answering a clinical or research question.
Secondary evidence (filtered, pre-appraised)
This is evidence assimilated, or put together, from a number of quality primary studies on a topic. It includes systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and evidence summaries.
This is sometimes referred to as filtered or pre-appraised evidence.
You can find it in specialised EBP sources such as The Cochrane Library (notably in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) and in health and medical databases such MEDLINE, PubMed and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. See Where to Search for Evidence, for details of where to search for secondary, filtered, pre-appraised evidence.
Primary evidence (unfiltered)
This body of evidence consists of original individual studies such as controlled trials, cohort studies, and case studies.
This is sometimes referred to as unfiltered evidence.
You can find primary studies in specialised EBP resources such as The Cochrane Library, notably in the Central Register of Controlled Trials, and in health and medical databases. See the next page for details of where to search for primary unfiltered evidence.
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