ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on both the strengths and the weaknesses of evidence-based medicine (EBM) approach, as it is applied to nursing. It presesnts the limitations that arise in large part because of the kind of research that is held to provide the best evidence, specifically randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with high internal validity. The chapter also focuses on other areas of the nursing literature except evidence-based nursing (EBN), to identify ways in which nursing researchers can study the best ways to use research in clinical care. The core idea behind both EBM and EBN is that there are clear criteria for identifying high-quality evidence. These criteria have two main parts: first, one should see where a study falls on the hierarchy of evidence. Second, the study should be appraised to determine whether it is valid. It briefly describes the rationale for each of these criteria, in preparation for introducing the major philosophical criticism of EBM.
