Social Work Resources
Definition of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)
"In social work, most agree that EBP is a process involving creating an answerable question based on a client or organizational need, locating the best available evidence to answer the question, evaluating the quality of the evidence as well as its applicability, applying the evidence, and evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution.
EBP is a process in which the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience, ethics, client preferences, and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services."
- Definitions, Evidence-Based Practice, National Association of Social Workers (NASW), https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Research-Data/Social-Work-Policy-Research/Evidence-Based-Practice
Practice Guidelines
Guidelines are "recommended procedures for accomplishing a given task or achieving a set of goals and objectives, formulated by a body with authority to speak on the subject but less binding than the formal standards used in evaluation and assessment"
- National Guideline Clearinghouse (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)Updated weekly, covers numerous topics. NOTE: Check that the guideline being used is current and that the recommendations are evidence-based.
- Clinical Practice Guidelines (American Psychiatric Association)"APA practice guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations for the assessment and treatment of psychiatric disorders and are intended to assist in clinical decision making by presenting systematically developed patient care strategies in a standardized format."
- APA Guidelines for Practitioners (American Psychological Association)"APA has approved as policy a variety of professional practice guidelines and related criteria in areas such as multicultural practice; child custody evaluations; and treatment of gay, lesbian, and bisexual clients. These guidelines address psychological practice with particular populations (e.g., older adults) or in particular areas (e.g., parenting coordination) without focusing on specific disorders or treatments."
- NASW Practice Standards and Guidelines"NASW Practice Standards & Guidelines provide benchmarks that describe the services that social workers should provide; that employers should support and that consumers should expect."
Searching for Evidence-Based Literature
The pyramid below could be used to classify levels of evidence in the literature. Highest levels help in identifying the most empirically supported interventions/treatments when answering research questions.
RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial
Source: Pyramid modified from: Navigating the Maze, University of Virginia, Health Sciences Library
Consider adding these terms to your search for evidence-based information:
- treatment guidelines
- best practices
- guidelines
- practice guidelines
- evidence-based
- treatment planners
- specific types of studies (meta-analysis, systematic reviews, etc.)
Also visit the Conducting a Literature Review Guide on searching for evidence-based literature
Social Work and Other Human Services
- Evidence-based Practices Resource Center, SAMHSA"SAMHSA is committed to improving prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for mental and substance use disorders. The Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center provides communities, clinicians, policy-makers and others with the information and tools to incorporate evidence-based practices into their communities or clinical settings."
Evidence-based Health and Psychology Databases
- APA PsycInfo"The premier abstracting and indexing database covering the behavioral and social sciences from the authority in psychology."
- Cochrane LibraryEvidence based Health Science research.
- Campbell Collaboration"The Campbell Collaboration is an international social science research network that produces high quality, open and policy-relevant evidence syntheses, plain language summaries and policy briefs."
- PubMed"PubMed® comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites."
- TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Medical DatabaseEvidence-based healthcare resources available on the Internet.