Social Work: Evidence-Based Practice  

This guide is meant to give social work students an overview of how to find research articles, books, and web sites that contribute to evidence-based practice.

Wer recommend the following books for learning more about evidence-based practice:

• Cournoyer, B. (2004). The Evidence-based social work skills book. Boston: Pearson. HV11.C782


• Gibbs, L. & Gambrill, E. (1999). Critical thinking for social workers. Thousand Oaks, Ca: Pine Forge Press. HV 11.G42


• Gibbs, L.E. (2003). Evidence-based practice for the helping professions. Pacific Grove, Ca: Brooks-Cole. R728.G53


• Gray, M., Plath, D. & Webb, S.A. Evidence-based social work: a critical stance. NY, NY: Routledge. HV10.5.G73


• O'Hare, T. (2005). Evidence-based practices for social workers: an interdisciplinary approach. Chicago: Lyceum Books. HV689.043


• Rubin, A. (2003). Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Based Practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. RC357.R73

Evidence-based practice is a "process for making practice decisions in which practitioners integrate the best research evidence available with their practice expertise and with client attributes, values, preferences, and circumstances (Rubin, 2008, P. 7)."

Rubin, A. (2008) Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Based Practice. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.

Research that informs evidence-based practice comes from several sources. These sources include, peer-reviewed journal articles, randomized clinical trials, and clinical trials. Occasionally, books and selected websites can be good sources of reliable, evidence-based information.

Please note that many of these sources overlap. For example, many peer-reviewed journals are based on a randomized clinical trial, and articles reporting on a randomized clinical trial are often peer-reviewed.

Because many of these sources overlap, we recommend that you look at the guide's sections in the following order:

1. Peer-Reviewed Articles
2. Forms of Evidence
3. Searching for Evidence in Journals
4. EBP & Books
5. Selected Websites