5.2. What is evidence informed practice (EIP)?
In essence, the EIP process requires practitioners to extend themselves beyond the realm of practice wisdom and what they consider to be ‘common sense’ and combine practice wisdom with the best research evidence. This may involve e.g., practitioners turning to research evidence about risk factors in relation to family violence, child abuse and neglect, youth suicide and much more.
Or it may involve turning to research about the impact of trauma on a person’s life and functioning. It may involve turning to evidence about multiple and complex needs (e.g., alcohol and other drug problems, homelessness, mental illness, family violence) – how they often occur together and how they can be the cause and the consequence of each other.
Importantly research evidence does not and cannot provide practitioners with a recipe book approach to working with children, young people, families and individuals who need welfare support and services. As a practitioner you are expected to have the skills and abilities to find and to analysis relevant research evidence and then apply it to your practice and decision making (Flynn & McDermott, 2016, p. 7).
5.3. What is evidence
Evidence is information that is found out as a result of undertaking research. Every day, in your everyday life, you do research to find evidence (i.e., information) to inform your decision making. For example, when you go shopping you might do some quick research on-line to find out where you will get the best deals and the cheapest prices.
As you go through life you can’t avoid making observations, counting things, asking questions, looking on-line, drawing from your previous experiences to inform decision making, and making comparisons (Flynn & McDermott, 2016). In fact if you didn’t regularly engage in research to find information and evidence – you wouldn’t be able to successfully engage with life.
It is important to note that there is a difference between the personal everyday research you engage in, and the evidence you draw from in your professional life.