NRHL 3330 Nursing Scholarship: Role of Research in Evidence Based Practice: STEPS of an EBP

1. Ask a question
   Converting the need for information (about prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, causation, etc) into an answerable question

2. Find information/evidence to answer question
   Tracking down the best evidence with which to answer that question 

3. Critically appraise the information/evidence
   Critically appraising that evidence for its validity (closeness to the truth), impact (size of the effect), and applicability (usefulness in our clinical practice) 

4. Integrate appraised evidence with own clinical expertise and patient’s preferences
   Integrating the critical appraisal with our clinical expertise and with our patient's unique biology, values and circumstances 

5. Evaluate
   Evaluating our effectiveness and efficiency in executing Steps 1-4 and seeking ways to improve them both for next time 

This should be an ongoing process in clinical practice and therefore it may also be illustrated as a circle (see above box).

(Note: Credit for the above - Northern Territory Health Library Services