How do you define Evidence-Based Practice?

[Update] Next week I'm posting an episode on Evidence-Based Practice. The interview is really nice and I think you'll really like it. With all episodes I do an intro where I introduce my guest, talk about why this topic is relevant to social workers, and then talk about what is covered in the interview. And so that's all well-and-good. Except that I've struggled with this intro because everyone seems to have a different understanding of what is Evidence-Based Practice.

So, this is where you come in. Twice.

First thing - at the top of this page you'll see that I've posted a poll. Take a minute – literally one minute – and select the definition of EBP you most agree with. I'm going to use the final tally in the introduction.

The second thing is I want to hear from you. I want to know how you use evidence-based practice in your social work practice. There's a very easy way to do this: call and leave a message on the Social Work Podcast answering machine – 215.948.2456. You can either dial the number directly, or go to make the call for free, on the upper right-hand side of the Social Work Podcast website click on the “CALL ME” button and Google will connect you to the answering machine for free. When you call, tell me your first name, where you're from, and what you think. If you can help me out with those two things – the poll and the voicemail, I'll be set for next week.

Thanks so much for listening to the Social Work Podcast, check back next week for the episode on Evidence-Based Practice, and keep on making a difference wherever you are.

  Download MP3 [01:55]

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APA (6th ed) citation for this podcast:

Singer, J. B. (Host). (2011, March 2). How do you define Evidence-Based Practice? [Update]. Social Work Podcast. Podcast retrieved Month Day, Year, from http://socialworkpodcast.com/2011/03/how-do-you-define-evidence-based.html

Results of the October 2008 Poll

The results from the latest Social Work Podcast poll are in. Twenty-two of you rated your level of agreement with the following statement: My clinical skills have improved from listening to the Social Work Podcast. Fifty percent (11) strongly agreed, 27% (6) agreed, 13% (2)neither agreed nor disagreed, and 8% (2) disagreed or strongly disagreed.

I am honored and pleased that over 77%of you reported that the podcast has improved your clinical skills. My hope is that improved skills will result in better services for our clients. I am also aware that the podcasts have a distinct clinical bias; future podcasts will address topics more relevant to community organizing and administration.

Thanks for participating. Please visit again to participate in November's poll.

Results of the first Social Work Podcast Poll

This whole podcast thing is pretty new, and there are only a handful of publicly available podcasts for social workers. Traditional media like television and radio have a pretty good idea of who is tuning in and what they want. In fact, entire industries are dedicated to identifying consumer preferences. The world of podcasts is a little more like the Wild West. I know a little bit about who listens to the Social Work Podcast: I know that since March, 2007, 3200 unique visitors have come to the website over 10,000 times from places like Iran, Australia, England, Canada, China, and Oklahoma. I know that the podcasts have been downloaded over 1000 times. I also know that three times as many people use Internet Explorer as any other browser to view the site. However, I know almost nothing about how you listen to the podcasts, what your preferences are for lengths and topics, why you listen to the podcast, and I know nothing about whether or not you find the podcasts useful, clinically relevant. So, in order to get some information, I've added a new feature to the Social Work Podcast website - a poll. Every month I will ask a question in the hopes of finding out a little more about who you are. The results of the first poll are in...


Download MP3 [4:42]

The first poll asked visitors to the Social Work Podcast website, "What is the ideal length for a Social Work Podcast?" Over a 2 week period (Wednesday September 26 - Tuesday, October 9, 2007), 43 visitors took the poll. Visitors had the option to chose from five answers:

1. less than 5 minutes


2. less than 10 minutes


3. less than 20 minutes


4. less than 30 minutes


5. As long as it needs to be

I was surprised by the results. Only one respondent thought that ideal length for a Social Work Podcast was less than five minutes. In contrast, an equal number of respondents believed that Social Work Podcasts should be less than 10, 20 or 30 minutes (8, 7 and 8 respectively). The runaway favorite for ideal length? "As long as it needs to be" with 19 votes, or 44% of the respondents.

So, what do I make of these results? I like to think that the average listener to the Social Work Podcast is interested in learning something that will improve his or her social work skills, so the podcast should be as long as it needs to be in order for that to happen. However, more people voted for podcasts to be less than 30 minutes than for "as long as it needs to be," which suggests that I better get my point across in under 30 minutes if I expect people to listen.

Note: This is not a scientific poll: there is no way to determine how many people decided not to vote, nor is there a way to determine if a respondent voted multiple times. Just for the record, I did not vote.

Thanks for helping me figure out what you like and what you don't like. While browser preference is somewhat useful, your answers to these questions will ultimately help me make the podcast as useful as I can. So, please visit the Social Work Podcast to participate in the next poll will be available October 12 - October 24: "What do you use to listen to the Social Work Podcast?"

APA (5th ed) citation for this podcast:

Singer, J. B. (Host). (2007, October 11). Results of the first Social Work Podcast poll. [Episode 25]. Social Work Podcast. Podcast retrieved Month Day, Year, from http://socialworkpodcast.com/2007/12/results-of-first-social-work-podcast.html