Evidence-Based I-O Psychology: Not There Yet

Evidence-based practice is now well established in several fields including medicine, nursing, and social policy. This article seeks to promote discussion of whether the practice of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychologists is evidence based and what is needed to make I-O psychology an evidence-based discipline. It first reviews the emergence of the concept of evidence-based practice. Second, it considers the definitions and features of evidence-based practice, including evidence-based management. It then assesses whether I-O psychology is itself an evidence-based discipline by identifying key characteristics of evidence-based practice and judging the extent these characterize I-O psychology. Fourth, some key strategies for promoting the use of evidence in I-O psychology are considered: practice-oriented research and systematic reviews. Fifth, barriers to practicing evidence-based I-O psychology are identified along with suggestions for overcoming them. Last is a look to the future of an evidence-based I-O psychology that plays an important role in helping consultants, in-house I-O psychologists, managers, and organizations become more evidence based.