Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Informed Practice
3. Edition June 2022
304 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
The latest edition of an essential text to help students and practitioners distinguish between research studies that should and should not influence practice decisions
Now in its third edition, Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Informed Practice delivers an essential and practical guide to integrating research appraisal into evidence-informed practice. The book walks you through the skills, knowledge, and strategies you can use to identify significant strengths and limitations in research.
The ability to appraise the veracity and validity of research will improve your service provision and practice decisions. By teaching you to be a critical consumer of modern research, this book helps you avoid treatments based on fatally flawed research and methodologies.
Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Informed Practice, Third Edition offers:
* An extensive introduction to evidence-informed practice, including explorations of unethical research and discussions of social justice in the context of evidence-informed practice.
* Explanations of how to appraise studies on intervention efficacy, including the criteria for inferring effectiveness and critically examining experiments.
* Discussions of how to critically appraise studies for alternative evidence-informed practice questions, including nonexperimental quantitative studies and qualitative studies.
A comprehensive and authoritative blueprint for critically assessing research studies, interventions, programs, policies, and assessment tools, Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Informed Practice belongs in the bookshelves of students and practitioners of the social sciences.
Acknowledgements xv
About the Authors xvii
About the Companion Website xix
Part 1 Overview of Evidence-Informed Practice
1 Introduction to Evidence-Informed Practice (EIP) 2
1.1 Emergence of EIP 4
1.2 Defining EIP 4
1.3 Types of EIP Questions 5
1.4 EIP Practice Regarding Policy and Social Justice 13
1.5 EIP and Black Lives Matter 13
1.6 Developing an EIP Practice Process Outlook 14
1.7 EIP as a Client-Centered, Compassionate Means, Not an End unto Itself 16
1.8 EIP and Professional Ethics 17
Key Chapter Concepts 18
Review Exercises 19
Additional Readings 19
2 Steps in the EIP Process 21
2.1 Step 1: Question Formulation 22
2.2 Step 2: Evidence Search 22
2.3 Step 3: Critically Appraising Studies and Reviews 29
2.4 Step 4: Selecting and Implementing the Intervention 30
2.5 Step 5: Monitor Client Progress 33
2.6 Feasibility Constraints 33
2.7 But What about the Dodo Bird Verdict? 36
Key Chapter Concepts 38
Review Exercises 39
Additional Readings 39
3 Research Hierarchies: Which Types of Research Are Best for Which Questions? 40
3.1 More than One Type of Hierarchy for More than One Type of EIP Question 41
3.2 Qualitative and Quantitative Studies 42
3.3 Which Types of Research Designs Apply to Which Types of EIP Questions? 43
Key Chapter Concepts 52
Review Exercises 53
Additional Readings 53
Part 2 Critically Appraising Studies for EIP Questions about Intervention Effectiveness
4 Criteria for Inferring Effectiveness: How Do We Know What Works? 56
4.1 Internal Validity 57
4.2 Measurement Issues 62
4.3 Statistical Chance 65
4.4 External Validity 66
4.5 Synopses of Fictitious Research Studies 67
Key Chapter Concepts 71
Review Exercises 72
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 73
Additional Readings 73
5 Critically Appraising Experiments 74
5.1 Classic Pretest-Posttest Control Group Design 75
5.2 Posttest-Only Control Group Design 76
5.3 Solomon Four-Group Design 77
5.4 Alternative Treatment Designs 78
5.5 Dismantling Designs 79
5.6 Placebo Control Group Designs 80
5.7 Experimental Demand and Experimenter Expectancies 82
5.8 Obtrusive Versus Unobtrusive Observation 83
5.9 Compensatory Equalization and Compensatory Rivalry 83
5.10 Resentful Demoralization 84
5.11 Treatment Diffusion 84
5.12 Treatment Fidelity 85
5.13 Practitioner Equivalence 85
5.14 Differential Attrition 86
5.15 Synopses of Research Studies 88
Key Chapter Concepts 91
Review Exercises 92
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 92
Additional Readings 93
6 Critically Appraising Quasi-Experiments: Nonequivalent Comparison Groups Designs 94
6.1 Nonequivalent Comparison Groups Designs 95
6.2 Additional Logical Arrangements to Control for Potential Selectivity Biases 97
6.3 Statistical Controls for Potential Selectivity Biases 101
6.4 Creating Matched Comparison Groups Using Propensity Score Matching 105
6.5 Pilot Studies 108
6.6 Synopses of Research Studies 110
Key Chapter Concepts 113
Review Exercises 114
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 114
Additional Readings 114
7 Critically Appraising Quasi-Experiments: Time-Series Designs and Single-Case Designs 115
7.1 Simple Time-Series Designs 116
7.2 Multiple Time-Series Designs 118
7.3 Single-Case Designs 119
7.4 Synopses of Research Studies 125
Key Chapter Concepts 129
Review Exercises 130
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 131
Additional Reading 131
8 Critically Appraising Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 132
8.1 Advantages of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 133
8.2 Risks in Relying Exclusively on Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 135
8.3 Where to Start 135
8.4 What to Look for When Critically Appraising Systematic Reviews 135
8.5 What Distinguishes a Systematic Review from Other Types of Reviews? 142
8.6 What to Look for When Critically Appraising Meta-Analyses 143
8.7 Synopses of Research Studies 152
Key Chapter Concepts 155
Review Exercises 156
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 157
Additional Readings 157
Part 3 Critically Appraising Studies for Alternative EIP Questions
9 Critically Appraising Nonexperimental Quantitative Studies 160
9.1 Surveys 161
9.2 Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Studies 169
9.3 Case-Control Studies 171
9.4 Synopses of Research Studies 172
Key Chapter Concepts 178
Review Exercises 179
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 179
Additional Readings 179
10 Critically Appraising Qualitative Studies 180
10.1 Qualitative Observation 182
10.2 Qualitative Interviewing 183
10.3 Other Qualitative Methodologies 186
10.4 Qualitative Sampling 186
10.5 Grounded Theory 187
10.6 Alternatives to Grounded Theory 188
10.7 Frameworks for Appraising Qualitative Studies 189
10.8 Mixed Model and Mixed Methods Studies 193
10.9 Synopses of Research Studies 193
Key Chapter Concepts 198
Review Exercises 200
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 201
Additional Readings 201
Part 4 Assessment and Monitoring in Evidence-Informed Practice
11 Critically Appraising, Selecting, and Constructing Assessment Instruments 204
11.1 Reliability 205
11.2 Validity 208
11.3 Feasibility 214
11.4 Sample Characteristics 214
11.5 Locating Assessment Instruments 215
11.6 Constructing Assessment Instruments 216
11.7 Synopses of Research Studies 218
Key Chapter Concepts 220
Review Exercises 221
Exercise for Critically Appraising Published Articles 222
Additional Readings 222
12 Monitoring Client Progress 223
12.1 A Practitioner-Friendly Single-Case Design 224
12.2 Using Within-Group Effect-Size Benchmarks 234
Key Chapter Concepts 235
Review Exercises 236
Additional Readings 236
Part 5 Additional Aspects of Evidence-Informed Practice
13 Appraising and Conducting Data Analyses in EIP 238
13.1 Introduction 238
13.2 Ruling Out Statistical Chance 239
13.3 What Else Do You Need to Know? 244
13.4 The 05 Cutoff Point Is Not Sacred! 245
13.5 What Else Do You Need to Know? 246
13.6 Calculating Within-Group Effect Sizes and Using Benchmarks 247
13.7 Conclusion 248
Key Chapter Concepts 248
Review Exercises 249
Additional Reading 249
14 Critically Appraising Social Justice Research Studies 250
14.1 Introduction 250
14.2 Evidence-Informed Social Action 251
14.3 What Type of Evidence? 252
14.4 Participatory Action Research (PAR) 253
14.5 Illustrations of Other Types of Social Justice Research 254
14.6 Conclusion 254
Key Chapter Concepts 258
Review Exercises 259
Additional Readings 260
Glossary 261
References 269
Index 273
JENNIFER BELLAMY, PhD, is Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. She teaches research and theory courses at the master's and doctoral levels.
