Building the house of evaluation: Reconsidering the blueprints and bricks for knowledge accumulation in evaluation

Evaluation ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Lemire ◽  
Christina A. Christie
Keyword(s):  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Knowledge Building ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
What Works ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Cumulative Knowledge

The push for evidence-based practice is persistent in the public sector—what counts is what works. One central premise for evidence-based practice is the existence of an evidence base; that is, an accumulated and generalizable body of knowledge. Informed by a recent systematic review, we examine the promises and pitfalls of meta-analysis (the statistical workhorse of systematic reviews) as the primary blueprint for cumulative knowledge building in evaluation. This analysis suggests that the statistical assumptions underlying the meta-analytic framework raise issues that, at least in regards to producing generalizable knowledge, may cut even deeper than is suggested by common criticisms. Advancing beyond meta-analysis, we consider alternative approaches for knowledge building and reflect on the implications of these for individual evaluations.

scholarly journals Evidence-based practice of stereotactic radiosurgery: Outcomes from an educational course for neurosurgery and radiation oncology residents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Swathi Chidambaram ◽  
Sergio W. Guadix ◽  
John Kwon ◽  
Justin Tang ◽  
Amanda Rivera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Stereotactic Radiosurgery ◽  
Radiation Oncology ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Senior Faculty ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Before And After

Background: As the field of brain and spine stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) continues to grow, so will the need for a comprehensive evidence base. However, it is unclear to what degree trainees feel properly equipped to use SRS. We assess the perceptions and comfort level reported by neurosurgery and radiation oncology residents concerning the evidence-based practice of SRS. Methods: A continuing medical education (CME) course provided peer-reviewed updates regarding treatment with intracranial and spinal SRS. Presentations were given by neurosurgery and radiation oncology residents with mentorship by senior faculty. To gauge perceptions regarding SRS, attendees were surveyed. Responses before and after the course were analyzed using the Fisher’s exact test in R statistical software. Results: Participants reported the greatest knowledge improvements concerning data registries (P < 0.001) and clinical trials (P = 0.026). About 82% of all (n = 17) radiation oncology and neurosurgery residents either agreed or strongly agreed that a brain and spine SRS rotation would be beneficial in their training. However, only 47% agreed or strongly agreed that one was currently part of their training. In addition, knowledge gains in SRS indications (P = 0.084) and ability to seek collaboration with colleagues (P = 0.084) showed notable trends. Conclusion: There are clear knowledge gaps shared by potential future practitioners of SRS. Specifically, knowledge regarding SRS data registries, indications, and clinical trials offer potential areas for increased educational focus. Furthermore, the gap between enthusiasm for increased SRS training and the current availability of such training at medical institutions must be addressed.

scholarly journals Exploring public engagement with missing person appeals on Twitter

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reka Solymosi ◽  
Oana Petcu ◽  
Jack Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Missing Persons ◽  
Early Return ◽  
Police Agencies ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Twitter Account

Police agencies globally are seeing an increase in reports of people going missing. These people are often vulnerable, and their safe and early return is a key factor in preventing them from coming to serious harm. One approach to quickly find missing people is to disseminate appeals for information using social media. Yet despite the popularity of twitter-based missing person appeals, presently little is known about how to best construct these messages to ensure they are shared far and wide. This paper aims to build an evidence-base for understanding how police accounts tweet appeals for information about missing persons, and how the public engage with these tweets by sharing them. We analyse 1,008 Tweets made by Greater Manchester Police between the period of 2011 and 2018 in order to investigate what features of the tweet, the twitter account, and the missing person are associated with levels of retweeting. We find that tweets with different choice of image, wording, sentiment, and hashtags vary in how much they are retweeted. Tweets that use custody images have lower retweets than Tweets with regular photos, while tweets asking the question “have you seen...?” and asking explicitly to be retweeted have more engagement in the form of retweets. These results highlight the need for conscientious, evidence-based crafting of missing appeals, and pave the way for further research into the causal mechanisms behind what affects engagement, to develop guidance for police forces worldwide.

What Can Feminist Epistemology Do for Surgery?

Hypatia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 404-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Jean Walker ◽  
Wendy Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Feminist Epistemology ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Surgical Practice ◽  
Lack Of Fit ◽  
What Works ◽  
Based Medicine ◽  
Contemporary Health Care

Surgery is an important part of contemporary health care, but currently much of surgery lacks a strong evidence base. Uptake of evidence‐based medicine (EBM) methods within surgical research and among practitioners has been slow compared with other areas of medicine. Although this is often viewed as arising from practical and cultural barriers, it also reflects a lack of epistemic fit between EBM research methods and surgical practice. In this paper we discuss some epistemic challenges in surgery relating to this lack of fit, and investigate how resources from feminist epistemology can help to characterize them. We point to ways in which these epistemic challenges may be addressed by gathering and disseminating evidence about what works in surgery using methods that are contextual, pluralistic, and sensitive to hierarchies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document