Practitioner's Guide to Using Research for Evidence-Informed Practice

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. 

Table of Contents:
Preface xi 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

About the Author :
ALLEN RUBIN, PhD, is the Kantambu Latting College Professorship for Leadership and Change at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. He is the author of several bestselling titles in social work research. 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.