Step 3 of EBP: Part 1—Evaluating Research Designs

Abstract

Step 3 of the EBP process involves evaluating the quality and client relevance of research results you have located to inform treatment planning. While some useful clinical resources include careful appraisals of research quality, clinicians must critically evaluate the content both included in these summaries and what is excluded or omitted from them. For individual research studies, clinicians must first identify and evaluate the research designs and methods reported. The terminology used to describe research designs in EBM/EBP may not always be consistent with that used in most social work research courses. This chapter provides a review of the key research designs used in EBM and EBP in order to orient clinicians to core terminology found in EBP summaries and reports.