SIFT: Four strategies for critically engaging with research evidence
Written by: Kirstin Mulholland and Harry Madgwick
6 min read
Kirstin Mulholland, Senior Associate for School Engagement and Evidence Use, Education Endowment Foundation, UK
Harry Madgwick, Research and Policy Manager, Education Endowment Foundation, UK
In education, we have access to an ever-increasing quantity of research (Francis, 2023). Yet simply accessing research evidence is not enough to ensure that it impacts upon outcomes (Nelson et al., 2017; Pegram et al., 2022). To make evidence-informed changes to practice, educators and leaders must access, interpret and apply findings to their contexts, alongside many other responsibilities.
There is some evidence to suggest that developing confidence in assessing the potential strengths, limitations and relevance of research evidence may be linked to increased engagement with research evidence. For example, an Australian survey found that teachers who felt confident in evaluating research were almost twice as likely to report using this to identify and implement ‘best bets’ – promising
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