Professor Steven Higgins s.e.higgins@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Meta-synthesis and comparative meta-analysis of education research findings: some risks and benefits
Higgins, S.
Authors
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 | Feb 1, 2018 |
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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