Using Principles of Practice-Based Research to Teach Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work

Abstract

Social work educators are in a good position to encourage the uptake of evidence-based practice more widely throughout the profession. Despite increasing attention being paid to it within professional literature, it seems to be making inroads to practice only very slowly. This article interprets that slow uptake as a function of confusion about the definition and scope of evidence-based practice, and also as an expression of the distance between the practice and research communities within the profession. Practice-based research is introduced as a framework that responds to both of these concerns. Finally the importance of social work education as a catalyst of evidence-based practice is articulated and the five-step evidence-based practice process is explicated with considerations from practice-based research incorporated along with pedagogical implications.

Keywords:

• Practice-based research
• education
• EBP implementation process