CSD Library Resources

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the integration of

Clinical expertise/expert opinion

• The knowledge, judgment, and critical reasoning acquired through your training and professional experiences

Evidence (external and internal)

• The best available information gathered from the scientific literature (external evidence) and from data and observations collected on your individual client (internal evidence)

Client/patient/caregiver perspectives

• The unique set of personal and cultural circumstances, values, priorities, and expectations identified by your client and their caregivers

When all three components of EBP are considered together, clinicians can make informed, evidence-based decisions and provide high-quality services reflecting the interests, values, needs, and choices of individuals with communication disorders.

-- ASHA EBP Portal 

ASHA EBP Portal

• The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) provides this excellent resource to lead you through the process, gain background information about your topic, and start your search for external evidence. 

Step 1: Frame Your Clinical Question

• Use the PICO method to define your clinical question clearly. This will help you understand clearly what you are looking to find and help you determine search terms in the next step when you gather evidence. You will start your research log in this step by adding your research or clinical question and your PICO table.

Step 2: Gather Evidence

• You'll gather internal evidence (your patient's perspectives, situation, needs, and performance data) and the most relevant and credible external evidence. This is where you'll come up with search terms, decide which databases and other sources to search for evidence, and find evidence. You may need to start off by finding background information in textbooks, manuals, and point-of-care sources to better help you understand the topics involved and to come up with search terms and then search for research studies to help you answer your specific questions. You'll determine which study designs best match your research question. You will add to your research log all of your keywords, the databases and other sources you search, the search terms/search strings and filters you use in each one. You will also add citations for any of the sources that you select. 

Step 3: Assess the Evidence

• During this step, you'll assess the internal evidence of how well your patient is responding to the treatment, and the external evidence you have found. You determine its relevance to your clinical question, its validity and trustworthiness, and its results and conclusions. You'll take notes in your research log about the sources you have selected and determine whether to use them for your research. 

Step 4: Make Your Clinical Decision

• You can use the DECIDE framework to use the internal and external evidence you've selected to make your clinical decision.