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Going beyond the narrative summarization of research findings: The meta‐analysis approach
Author(s) -
Curlette William L.,
Cannella Kathleen Silva
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.4770080312
Subject(s) - automatic summarization , meta analysis , narrative , computer science , narrative review , management science , data science , metatheory , narrative inquiry , systematic review , empirical research , psychology , medline , epistemology , information retrieval , medicine , psychotherapist , political science , engineering , linguistics , pathology , programming language , philosophy , law
Meta‐analysis, a method for summarizing empirical studies, has been advocated in many areas of behavioral research. Expanding on existing literature, this article provides an overview of meta‐analysis with particular emphasis on its strengths and limitations. Overall, the quantitative approaches employed in meta‐analysis offer many advantages as a literature review procedure. Even if meta‐analysis is not adopted as the literature review method, awareness of the issues it raises can improve the traditional narrative summarization approach.