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Meta-synthesis and comparative meta-analysis of education research findings: some risks and benefits

Higgins, S.

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Abstract

Meta-analysis, or quantitative synthesis, is the statistical combination of research findings. It can identify whether an intervention or approach, on balance, is effective or not, and can explain variation in findings by identifying patterns associated with larger or smaller effects across studies. It is now more widely applied in medicine and psychology, even though the term was first used in education, and the underpinning statistical ideas date back 70 years or so. This review traces the development of meta-analysis in education and the history of meta-meta-analysis or ‘meta-synthesis’ in more detail, where the temptation is not just to draw conclusions about similar studies, but to aggregate findings across meta-analyses to understand the relative benefits of different approaches on educational outcomes. A final section presents the rationale for the Sutton Trust–Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning Toolkit, which aims to present accurate and accessible findings from research studies which are sufficiently applicable to inform professional decision-making and action in schools, as an example of a ‘meta-synthesis’ for education.

Citation

Higgins, S. (2016). Meta-synthesis and comparative meta-analysis of education research findings: some risks and benefits. Review of Education, 4(1), 31-53. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3067

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 11, 2016
Online Publication Date Apr 4, 2016
Publication Date Feb 1, 2016
Deposit Date Feb 2, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Review of Education
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 4
Issue 1
Pages 31-53
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3067

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Copyright Statement
This is the accepted version of the following article: Higgins, S. (2016), Meta-synthesis and comparative meta-analysis of education research findings: some risks and benefits. Review of Education, 4(1): 31-53, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3067 This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.





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