"Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a process in which the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience and ethics, and client preferences and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services. The practitioner, researcher and client must work together in order to identify what works, for whom and under what conditions" - National Association of Social Workers
Learn more: NASW Evidence Based Practice Guide
Why Use EBP?
Because it is difficult for a clinician to analyze all the information in a field, resources such as UpToDate and Clinical Evidence offer summaries of evidence-based information on a topic.
Research articles are published results of research studies and considered a Primary Source in social work.
A Systematic Review is a literature review focused on a single question which tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesis all high quality research evidence relevant to that question. Reviews are considered a Secondary Source in nursing.
Meta-analyses
are systematic reviews that combine the results
of several studies using quantitative statistics.