When making decisions on patient care, it is important for health care professionals to use the most relevant, valid and reliable research in making those decisions.

Evidence-based practice is a method of using the best research evidence to strive for optimal patient health outcomes.

To identify the best research evidence, you must:

1. Accurately and precisely describe your clinical question
2. Search high quality resources to find the best information to address your question

Many people skip the first step and just start searching resources with a vague sense of what they are looking for. Developing a clinical question first will help direct research efforts.