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A meta-analysis uses statistical methods to synthesize quantitative research results from multiple homogenous studies (Deeks et al., 2021; Grant & Booth, 2009; Korhonen et al., 2013; Paré et al., 2015).
Meta-analysis
Features of a meta-analysis may include:
Network Meta-analysis
Chaimani et al. (2021) state that a “network meta-analysis is a technique for comparing three or more interventions simultaneously in a single analysis by combining both direct and indirect evidence across a network of studies” ("Key points", para. 1.).
Booth, A., Sutton, A., Clowes, M., & Martyn-St James, M. (2022). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review (3rd ed.). SAGE.
Chaimani, A., Caldwell, D. M., Li, T., Higgins, J. P. T., & Salanti, G. (2021). Chapter 11: Undertaking network meta-analyses. In J. P. T. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, M. Cumpston, T. Li, M. J. Page, & V. A. Welch (Eds.), Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Cochrane. https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-11
Deeks, J. J., Higgins, J. P. T., & Altman, D. G. (2021). Chapter 10: Analysing data and undertaking meta-analyses. In J. P. T. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, M. Cumpston, T. Li, M. J. Page, & V. A. Welch (Eds.), Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews of interventions. Cochrane. https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-10
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Korhonen, A., Hakulinen-Viitanen, T., Jylhä, V., & Holopainen, A. (2013). Meta-synthesis and evidence-based health care: A method for systematic review. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 27(4), 1027-1034. https://doi.org/10.1111/scs.12003
Leary, H., & Walker, A. (2018). Meta-Analysis and meta-synthesis methodologies: Rigorously piecing together research. TechTrends, 62(5), 525-534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-018-0312-7
Paré, G., Trudel, M.-C., Jaana, M., & Kitsiou, S. (2015). Synthesizing information systems knowledge: A typology of literature reviews. Information & Management, 52(2), 183-199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2014.08.008