USING RESEARCH EVIDENCE IN YOUR PRACTICE
Are you wondering how to begin a conversation around using evidence in your practice with your team/
supervisor/clients? Why not try one of the following ideas:
1. Read a relevant research article and discuss it with your Supervisor.
2. Recommend that your team read a relevant research article and discuss it at your next team meeting.
3. Provide a relevant research article/research summary to the families you are working with. Use it to start
a discussion around issues clients are facing at your next meeting.
4. Think critically about the research article(s) you have read and the research it contains. Some questions
to consider include:
• What additional questions do you have after reading it?
• What more do you want to know?
• What methodology was used in this study?
• What are the limitations and strengths of this type of methodology?
• What are the key characteristics of the population involved in the study?
• Are there similarities and/or differences between this population and the children and families I am
working with?
• How might this impact the relevance and applicability of this research to my practice?
• Where was this research carried out? E.g. in a rural/urban setting? In Ireland? Europe?
• Are issues of culture and ethnicity considered in this research?
• What do the results indicate?
• Can I apply these findings to my practice? What do I need to consider before doing so?
Consider the findings of relevant research in the context of client preferences and values, case
circumstances and your organizational context, and practitioner knowledge and experience.
Remember: Using evidence in your practice will look different in every organisational context, for every
practitioner, and with each client you work with.
Research briefs
22 PRACTICE LINKS // DECEMBER 2021