We are all researchers every day as we make decisions.

We collect evidence from many sources, formal and informal.

This tool is to assist the researcher with the critical thinking process in evidence based research.

Critical thinking is used in evaluating your search results, your sources and recognizing bias in research studies.

Evidence based practice is continuous improvement with critical thinking.

This tool uses terminology drawn from the health field but a systematic research process applies to problem solving in all disciplines.

 

The basic evidence based research steps are:

• Begin with a problem or issue stated as a question. 1 2
• Plan your search for the levels of evidence you need. 3
• Search for secondary or primary sources and primary evidence. 4 5
• Evaluate your results. 6 7
• Implement your findings. 8 9
• Publish your findings to build the evidence base. 10

Appendixes

References

About the tool