Evidence-Based Movement
The Evidence-Based Movement advocates for using objective evidence in decision-making, particularly in professional fields like medicine and management, to overcome barriers such as information overload and ingrained beliefs that cause variability in outcomes.
THE IDEA
Evidence-Based Movement
Intuition and explicit evidence both influence decisions. We may choose friends through an immediate sense of connection, while comparing prices, features and reliability when buying a car. Even in decisions where evidence matters, people can disagree about what counts as evidence and how much weight it deserves.
Professional practice combines formal education, practical experience and knowledge that can be difficult to put into words. Practitioners also differ in how well they keep up with new research and methods. These differences can contribute to variation in outcomes.
Keeping up is difficult for two reasons. The volume of new research can be overwhelming, even within a narrow specialty. Familiar solutions can also become habits: a practitioner may continue to believe that solution X is best for problem A without reconsidering it when new evidence appears.
Evidence-based practice aims to make the assessment and use of relevant evidence a regular part of professional decisions. The movement developed in medicine and spread to fields including management. Its practical challenge is to help practitioners evaluate new findings and incorporate useful changes into their work.
When to use it
A doctor choosing a treatment plan based on clinical research rather than personal preference.
A manager implementing a new policy after analyzing data on employee productivity.
A social worker using evidence-based interventions for client welfare.
A teacher adopting teaching methods proven effective by educational studies.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Intuition vs Rationality in Everyday Decisions
Choosing friends is often based on intuition and emotional connection, while buying a car typically involves rational evaluation of objective criteria like price and features.
Variability in Professional Practice
Professionals differ in their training, practical experience and access to new research. Evidence-based practice aims to reduce avoidable variation in care or services by helping them assess and use relevant findings.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
In what types of decisions do you rely on intuition versus objective evidence? How might that affect outcomes?
How can professionals overcome the barriers of information overload and ingrained beliefs to adopt evidence-based practices?
Think of a recent decision where you used evidence. What was the evidence, and how did it influence the outcome?
Often confused with
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Evidence-Based Decision-Making How to Leverage Available Data and Avoid Cognitive Biases (Andrew D. Banasiewicz)