This article explores how nurses can use evidence-based practice to critique and evaluate the rationale and evidence for specific nursing procedures or practices. Through the development of a focused research question and search strategy, nurses can select and critique relevant research articles to answer the research question, which can support the provision of optimal practice and high-quality care. This article demonstrates the process of evidence-based practice, with the aim of increasing novice researchers' confidence in applying this process in practice. The article evaluates the rationale for the use of an early-warning score system in the identification of patients at risk of deterioration, in particular the identification of sepsis and septic shock in the emergency setting. In this article, one research article will be selected and critiqued; however, in practice several appropriate articles should be reviewed to draw firm conclusions. Some of the barriers to the implementation of evidence-based practice and the dissemination of research will be discussed.