Evidence Based Practice (EBP) or Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) uses the best current research evidence to support clinical decisions in patient health care.
Image source: Georgetown University Medical Center
Search Tools
TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database Plus
This meta-search engine simultaneously searches evidence-based sources of systematic reviews, practice guidelines, and critically-appraised topics and articles -- including most of those listed above and many more. Also searches MEDLINE’s Clinical Queries, medical image databases, e-textbooks, and patient information leaflets.
Combines meta-searching and contingency searching in order to automate searching for medical evidence. Simultaneously searches multiple Internet sites and collates the results into one page.
Filtered Resources
Unfiltered ResourcesSystematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses
Consists of detailed, structured topic reviews of hundreds of articles. Teams of experts complete comprehensive literature reviews, evaluate the literature, and present summaries of the findings of the best studies. Published by the International Cochrane Collaboration.
In Ovid MEDLINE: Enter your search query; Click on the "Limits" icon; Select "Systematic Reviews" under "Subject Subsets."
In PubMed: Enter your search query; Click "Systematic Reviews" under "MyNCBI Filters"
In Scopus: Enter your search query including AND TITLE-ABS-KEY("Systematic Review*")
Critically-Appraised Topics
Interactive guideline portal created by the same team that developed and maintained the AHRQ National Guideline Clearinghouse. Requires free registration.
PEDro, the Physiotherapy Evidence Databases, is a free database of randomized trials, systematic reviews, and clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy.
Critically-Appraised Individual Articles
The editors of this journal screen the top 100+ clinical journals and identify studies that are methodologically sound and clinically relevant. An enhanced abstract, with conclusions clearly stated, and a commentary are provided for each selected article. Published by the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine.
To limit your PubMed search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on "Clinical Queries" under "PubMed Tools." This specialized search is intended for clinicians and has built-in search "filters." Four study categories--therapy, diagnosis, etiology, prognosis--are provided, and you may indicate whether you wish your search to be more sensitive (i.e., include most relevant articles but probably including some less relevant ones) or more specific (i.e., including mostly relevant articles but probably omit a few).
To limit your Ovid MEDLINE search to the best evidence-producing studies: Clinical Queries (See PubMed) is searchable in Ovid; click on the "Limits" icon.
International coverage of the professional and academic literature in psychology, medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, physiology, linguistics, and other areas.
To limit your PsycINFO search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on the "Methodology" under "Refine Your Results" and choose from clinical case study, systematic reviews, meta analysis, etc.
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature
To limit your CINAHL search to the best evidence-producing studies: Click on "Show More" under "Refine Your Results" to use "Clinical Queries" and/or select the "Evidence Based Practice" filter.
Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.
Background Information/Expert Opinion
Note: Evidence in these resources may vary from expert opinion to high levels of evidence.
A clinical information resource, which offers up-to-date, fully referenced expert answers to patient-care, diagnosis, and treatment questions. Topic reviews are written by recognized authorities who review the topic, synthesize the evidence, summarize key findings, and provide specific recommendations. First Time Users must register before logging in. See the UpToDate Guide for more information.
Provides a variety of resources needed to excel in basic science studies and clerkships; instant access to videos, self-assessment, and leading medical textbooks with optimized content for any mobile device.
Provides access to pharmacy textbooks, videos, games, cases, Q&A, NAPLEX review, and other resources that support pharmacy students as well as practicing pharmacists.
Collection of over 70,000 full-text electronic books.
A wide range of clinical databases, including unbiased, referenced information about drugs, toxicology, diseases, acute care, and alternative medicine.
Contains full text drug information resources and other health care information.
Digital full text versions of books such as reference works, scholarly monographs, literature and fiction, and 3,400 publicly-accessible titles.
Gumberg Library's Books @ Ovid collection provides full text electronic access to more than 150 books from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
Evidence-Based Medicine Information Sites
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Oxford University)
The Centre promotes evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them. Includes the EBM Toolbox, an assortment of materials which are very useful for practitioners of EBM, and EBM Teaching Materials, including PowerPoint presentations.
Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (Toronto)
Includes many resources for practicing and teaching EBM
A selective list of additional EBM websites developed and maintained by Duke University Medical Center Library.
From the School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield, UK. Includes a comprehensive list of EBM databases, journals, articles, and other information sources.
Evidence-Based Medicine Tutorials
Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine
From Duke University Medical Center Library and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Health Sciences Library.
SUNY Downstate Medical Research Library of Brooklyn Evidence-Based Medicine Course
