Deck 4: Evidence-Based Practice

Question 1

Scientific evidence refers to ______.

A) the systematic collection and analysis of data using the principles and practices of scientific inquiry
B) any form of information that is presented on behalf of an assertion
C) moral values that have been supported by scientific inquiry
D) what we have learned from practice experience and the policies of human service organizations

Answer 1

the systematic collection and analysis of data using the principles and practices of scientific inquiry

Question 2

Evidence-based practice is ______.

A) the implementation of the practice that holds the highest score for effectiveness from all studies that could be found by the practitioner
B) adherence to each and every tenet of the practice manual that directs the implementation of the practice being employed
C) social work practice that employs the judicious use of the best available evidence, along with considerations of client preferences and therapist expertise, in making practice decisions
D) the employment of the practice that the social worker has found, through practice experience, to be the most evidence-based

Answer 2

social work practice that employs the judicious use of the best available evidence, along with considerations of client preferences and therapist expertise, in making practice decisions

Question 3

______ is compatible with evidence-based practice.

A) Cherry-picking of data
B) A limited examination of data
C) Advocating for practices favored by your organization
D) Critical thinking

Answer 3

Critical thinking

Question 4

According to the text, which of the following is most true about studies of evidence?

A) If there is one good study that shows a treatment to be effective, it is likely that all studies will show the same.
B) A practice cannot be labeled as evidence-based if there is one good study that shows that it is not.
C) It would be rare to find that any bona fide treatment was lacking in evidence of its effectiveness.
D) The single study of practice effectiveness is superior as a guide for evidence-based practice than a systematic review of the practice.

Question 5

Which characteristic of literature inquiry distinguishes meta-analysis and systematic review from other levels of evidence?

A) the inclusion of many studies on research evidence
B) the determination of a search protocol prior to the search of the literature
C) the inclusion of studies that are different in regard to outcome
D) the inclusion of research studies on evidence that includes studies with the comparison group design

Question 6

Which of the following levels of evidence is most likely to minimize the bias of the researcher who is reviewing the literature on evidence?

A) the meta-analysis
B) the single article on evidence
C) the review of agency policies on evidence
D) the traditional literature review of evidence

Question 7

A social worker who fails to ______ is most likely not an evidence-based practitioner.

A) examine systematic reviews of evidence
B) review any research on evidence
C) present the research proposal to the IRB
D) employ a manual to guide practice with clients

Question 8

The traditional literature review of evidence is a review of ______.

A) a few articles that confirm your opinions
B) selected articles of evidence that have been secured by the authors of the work, where the protocol for the selection of articles for review is probably not enumerated
C) articles on evidence guided by a protocol for the search and includes the combination of data from all studies to compose an effect size
D) the most cited articles regarding that subject

Question 9

According to the text, which of the following are good sources of evidence for the social worker?

A) the agency policy manual
B) the County Commissioners
C) a good textbook on the target behavior being served
D) the Campbell Collaboration and the Cochrane Collaboration

Question 10

Which of the following is a good evidence-based research question?

A) What does our agency policy manual say about the treatment of postpartum depression?
B) What does my clinical supervisor say about the best treatment for postpartum depression?
C) What treatments have been found to be effective in the treatment of postpartum depression?
D) What has my experience taught me about the most effective treatments for postpartum depression?

Question 11

What is the type of evidence that should be your first step in your search for the evidence literature?

A) the traditional literature review of evidence
B) the systematic review of evidence
C) the meta-analysis of evidence
D) the single article on evidence that is most likely to support what you wish to do with your client

Question 12

The process of implementing evidence-based practice involves ______.

A) deciding on the chosen treatment based on evidence, practitioner expertise, and client preferences
B) picking through the evidence until you find some that suit the treatment that you would like to use with your client
C) finding the evidence that is supported by your agency
D) finding the evidence that you believe is most useful

Question 13

The Dodo Bird Verdict suggests that ______.

A) the practitioner should use the treatment with the highest level of evidence in its support
B) the common factors in treatment are more important than the choice you make among different bona fide treatments
C) there are no bona fide treatments for most mental health disorders
D) the practitioner should employ random samples of clients when conducting an evaluation of practice

Question 14

What is one of the five steps in the implementation of evidence-based practice?

A) using an experimental design in the evaluation of practice
B) choosing a random sample of clients
C) drawing conclusions
D) choosing the treatment with the highest number of studies that have been conducted

Question 15

Some systematic reviews have found a specific treatment (e.g., cognitive behavioral therapy) to be more effective than another treatment (e.g., psychodynamic therapy) in the treatment of depression, but the size of these differences has been found to be rather small. What conclusion does this finding support?

A) This finding does not support the Dodo Bird Verdict because it found that a treatment was more effective than another treatment on a given target behavior.
B) This finding supports the Dodo Bird Verdict because the superiority of one treatment over the other was small.
C) This finding is not relevant to the Dodo Bird Verdict.
D) This finding supports the Dodo Bird Verdict because it found one treatment to be superior to another.

Question 16

The Dodo Bird Verdict is supported by which finding?

A) The majority of studies that compare one model of treatment to another model of treatment do not find significant differences in client outcome.
B) The majority of studies that compare one model of treatment to another model of treatment find significant differences in client outcome.
C) Client outcome is worse if one major component of a model of treatment is withdrawn from some clients but not other clients.
D) The therapist's allegiance to the form of treatment provided is a better predictor of client outcome than is the choice of the form of treatment.

Question 17

According to the text, the Dodo Bird Verdict ______.

A) clearly shows that differences in treatment model do not influence client outcome; therefore, the practitioner should focus attention only upon the common factors
B) has been clearly refuted by the evidence, so the practitioner should focus much more attention upon the evidence about the best model of treatment than focus upon the common factors
C) suggests that practitioners should focus on both common factors and differences in treatment models
D) proves that client outcome is clearly not related either to the common factors or the models of treatment that are offered

Question 18

According to the text, which of the following statements about bona fide treatments is true? It is the position of the author of this book that ______.

A) there is relatively little evidence that most bona fide treatments are effective in regard to client outcome
B) bona fide treatments have typically been found to be effective in the treatment of some target behaviors
C) there is little proof that bona fide treatments are useful for the evidence-based practitioner
D) bona fide treatments should be avoided and simple treatments should be embraced

Question 19

When determining which treatment to offer a client, the evidence-based practitioner should consider the evidence on effective treatments for the outcomes being sought for the ______.

A) client
B) client along with the skills of the practitioner
C) client in addition to the skills of the practitioner and the preferences of the client
D) client in addition to the skills of the practitioner, the preferences of the client, and the preferences of the practitioner's clinical supervisor

Question 20

One of the common factors in treatment is the relationship between the practitioner and the client.

Question 21

If you find that the effect size for the outcome of your treatment for depression using the cognitive behavior model of treatment is higher than the effect size when using the psychodynamic model, you can conclude that psychodynamic treatment was superior to the cognitive behavioral model.

Question 22

One of the advantages of the meta-analysis is that it employs a protocol that guides the search for evidence.

Question 23

Evidence-based practice is the employment of the treatment with the most positive research on outcome regardless of whether this treatment favors the client's preferences or the practitioner's expertise.

Question 24

A major disadvantage of making a practice decision using a single article of evidence on client outcome is that the outcomes of different research studies are rather diverse.

Question 25

The process of seeking evidence for the evidence-based social worker should start with the review of a single article that reports appropriate evidence.

Question 26

Evidence-based social workers should evaluate their own practice, especially when using a treatment that has not been adequately tested.

Question 27

It would be appropriate for an evidence-based social worker to say "My 20 years of clinical experience is my evidence."

Question 28

When evidence-based social workers review a study about evidence, they should draw conclusions based on the data in the study rather than the literature that was discussed in the study report.

Question 29

When searching for evidence, a good first step is determining which databases to review.

Question 30

Imagine you are deciding on an intervention for a client, which three considerations would portray evidence-based practice? Identify three considerations which would portray evidence-based practice.

Question 31

As an evidence-based practitioner, what would you do if you were conducting a search for evidence and you found one research study that supported the treatment used by your agency, and one study that failed to support this treatment? Would you, for example, employ the treatment favored by your agency and use the one study as your evidence or would you continue your search? How much evidence would you seek before you believe you had sufficiently reviewed the literature?

Question 32

Imagine you are reviewing the literature for a certain topic. Give an example of evidence-based research question and a research question that is not evidence-based. Briefly explain why one is an evidence-based question and the other is not.

Question 33

Define the concept of cherry-picking. Explain its relevance to the systematic review of evidence, compared to the traditional literature review.

Question 34

Give a definition of a bona fide treatment. Identify a bona fide treatment for which you are familiar.