"Evidence-based medicine (EBM) or Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is the process of systematically reviewing, appraising, and using clinical research findings to support the delivery of clinical care to patients." Or, stated more simply...
"Evidence-based medicine is the integration of best research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values."
For more information including downloadable PDFs, visit the following links:
Implementing the evidence-based practice (EBP) competencies in healthcare : a practical guide to improving quality, safety, and outcomes by 
Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare : a guide to best practice by (Rosenberg W, Donald A. "Evidence based medicine: an approach to clinical problem-solving." BMJ 1995; 310:1122–1126.)
(Sackett D et al. Evidence-Based Medicine: How to Practice and Teach EBM, 2nd edition. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, 2000, p.1)
Learn more about EBP Levels of Evidence by clicking here.
The first step in research or evidence-based practice is defining a problem and asking a question. In the research process this becomes part of developing a proposal for a study. In the clinical setting, ‘asking a question’ may become part of a research study, a quality improvement project, or lead to evidence based practice.
A commonly used format for creating a clinical question is known as PICO which refers to:
P Patient population of interest
I Intervention/issue of interest
C Comparison of interest
O Outcome of interest
(American Nurses Association, Nursing World, "Asking the Question".)
CINAHL®Complete is the world’s most comprehensive source of full-text for nursing & allied health journals. This authoritative file contains full text for many of the most used journals in the CINAHL index, with no embargo. CINAHL®Complete is the definitive research tool for all areas of nursing & allied health literature.
Full text of more than 1350 journals
Contains more than 4.1 million records dating back to 1937
CINAHL Headings index with scope notes, major headings search, and subcategories search
Evidence-based Care Sheets
Quick Lessons CE Modules
Graphs, charts, diagrams
Cited references
Evidence based, peer-reviewed, and other search limits are available in advanced searching
* Enter search terms, then scroll down to the Limit Your Results section and find the Publication Types box in the right column to choose which type(s) you want to include. Then hit the search button. (Note: You can also do this post search by clicking on the Show More link in the Limit To section in the left column of the search result screen.) Or you may also choose to click the broader Evidence-Based Practice box before your search. *
MEDLINE, created by the National Library of Medicine, provides medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more.
Indexes citations from over 5,400 current biomedical journals
Contains more than 24 references to records dating back to 1946
MeSH index with scope notes, major headings search, and subcategories search
Search limiters include Evidence-based Medicine Reviews, various types of Clinical Queries, and Publication Types in advanced searching.
*MEDLINE is also available via the ProQuest database platform.
* For MEDLINE (EBSCO) you may use the same technique as CINAHL Complete above as they are both on the EBSCO platform. *
This link provides MU Full-text Link capabilities to our users. MU Full-Text links to items Marshall University Libraries has available.
* Run your search, then select the desired type of study under the Article Types limit on the left sidebar. *
Remember these Research Tips highlighted above:
When using EBSCO's CINAHL Complete database, you can limit your results before you search by going to the Advanced Search page and checking the box next to evidence-based practice in the Limiters section. (You can also do this after the search by using Limit To tools in the Refine Results section in the left column of your results screen.)
When using MEDLINE (any platform), you have the option of limiting results to "publication," "document" or "article" type depending on the platform you are using. In this way, you can choose to limit results to clinical trials, systematic reviews, case reports, comparative studies or meta-analysis, for example. PubMed Medline | EBSCO Host Medline
UpToDate® is the premier evidence-based clinical decision support resource authored by physicians to help healthcare practitioners make the best decisions at the point of care. NOTE: This resource is only accessible onsite at the Health Sciences Library.
DynaMed EBM Focus by EBSCO
DynaMed Weekly Update (now called DynaMed EBM Focus) is an evidence-based "clinical reference tool created by physicians for physicians and other health care professionals." The EBM Focus is compiled by the clinicians of the DynaMed Editorial Team who each week select one to five articles "most likely to change clinical practice." EBM Focus is free to e-mail subscribers. (Click subscribe to sign up.) You may also visit the Weekly Update & EBM Focus Archive.