About EBP Projects

Each year, second-year students in the McMaster SLP program complete a research project over two units of study. These projects are in collaboration with community clinicians and researchers, and are part of the students’ Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) course. In the first part of the course, students acquire background knowledge and develop methods for their projects (e.g., review the literature in that content area, learn about methods to be used for the study). By this time in their program, the students have had considerable experience searching the literature as part of their other courses, particularly their problem-based tutorials. In addition, concurrently with developing their EBP projects, they receive advanced coursework on conducting literature reviews and synthesizing literature, research design and methods, and knowledge translation. Students begin implementing their projects in late Winter of their second year, and complete them in the summer of that year with a public presentation of their results.

What is involved in being an EBP project supervisor?

Project supervisors work with teams of 2-4 students, with support from the course instructors. Students are required to meet with their supervisor at least twice in the fall, and more in the winter/spring term as needed. Meetings can be in person or via video, and are scheduled around supervisors’ available times. Students are required to submit sections of their report as the course progresses, and must have their supervisors’ approval to submit each section, but supervisors are not responsible for any marking.

How do I find out about supervising an EBP project?

The call for project supervisors typically is sent out in the summer prior to the beginning of the course, to all of our community clinician partners. The invitation email includes as “Self-Assessment” to determine if supervising an EBP project is right for you.