Social Sciences of Evidence-Based Practices

A field that studies evidence‑based practice (EBP) as a social and institutional phenomenon—examining how evidence hierarchies are constructed, how EBP is implemented in medicine, education, and policy, and how it affects professional autonomy, patient care, and social equity. The social sciences of EBP ask: who decides what counts as “evidence”? How do randomized controlled trials become the gold standard? What kinds of knowledge (qualitative, experiential, indigenous) are systematically excluded? It reveals that EBP, despite its scientific veneer, is a social movement with its own politics, interests, and unintended consequences.

Social Sciences of Evidence-Based Practices Example: “Her research in the social sciences of evidence‑based practices showed that requiring RCT evidence for all interventions disadvantaged treatments developed for rare or marginalized populations—not because they were less effective, but because they were harder to fund.”

Social Sciences of Evidence-Based Practices by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal April 16, 2026