LibGuides: Evidence-Based Practice: EBP Terms & Vocabulary

Evidence-Based Practice Glossaries

Evidence-Based Medicine Glossary (CEBM)
From the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine. Outlines some of the key terms that should be understood in relation to Evidence-Based Practice.
JAMAevidence Glossary
Terms are derived from Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence-Based Practice, 2nd Edition and The Rational Clinical Examination: Evidence-Based Clinical Diagnosis. Updated 2014.

Common Concepts

Is This Research Qualitative or Quantitative?

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research seeks to describe and discover experience rather than to manage it.

Qualitative Methods in Health Care Research
This article, available through PubMed, seeks to explain the various types of qualitative research methods, including ethnographies, narrative research, and case studies.

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research investigates research questions that are easily measured, allowing for statistical analysis.

Quantitative Research Methods in Medical Education
This article from Anesthesiology explores a variety of quantitative research methods and suggests ways to evaluate published quantitative research.

What Is the Difference Between Sensitivity and Specificity?

Sensitivity, Specificity, and Predictive Values: Foundations, Pliabilities, and Pitfalls in Research and Practice
This article, available through PubMed, takes readers through a detailed analysis of sensitivity, specificity, and how to use these gauges when evaluating testing tools and research.

Sensitivity

Sensitivity refers to how many people with a condition get a positive test result for that condition. A test with high sensitivity will have very few false negatives, because it is accurate in determining whether someone has a particular condition.

Specificity

Specificity refers to how many people without a condition gets a negative test result for that condition. A test with high specificity will have very few false positives, because it is accurate in ruling out whether someone has a particular condition.