Subject Guides: Reviewing the literature: Meta-synthesis

Meta-synthesis

Meta-syntheses integrate and interpret research results from multiple qualitative primary studies (Erwin et al., 2011; Leary & Walker, 2018; Lockwood et al., 2015; MacEntee, 2019).

What is a meta-synthesis?

Meta-syntheses contribute to:

Bridging of research gaps and practice (Erwin et al., 2011)
Improved decision making in evidence-based practice (Erwin et al., 2011; Korhonen et al., 2013)
Representing participants' perspectives, behaviours, emotions, beliefs, and experiences (Korhonen et al., 2013; Lachal et al., 2017; Tong et al., 2012)
Understanding patient responses to various interventions (Lockwood et al., 2015; MacEntee, 2019)
Comparison of a variety of healthcare contexts (Lachal et al., 2017; Tong et al., 2012)
Stronger results because the source of evidence comes from many different scholars and primary studies (Korhonen et al., 2013; Leary & Walker, 2018)
Generation of new primary research and knowledge (Erwin et al., 2011; Lachal et al., 2017; Leary & Walker, 2018; Tong et al., 2012)

Resources

Undertaking a qualitative evidence synthesis to support decision-making in a Cochrane context Series of four short videos presented by Professor Jane Noyes from Cochrane. Part 1: Qualitative research and how it fits into systematic reviews Part 2: How to choose a method for qualitative evidence synthesis Part 3: Framework synthesis, thematic synthesis, meta-ethnography Part 4: Confidence in qualitative evidence and reporting a qualitative evidence synthesis A pdf of the presentation is linked on this page.

How to perform a systematic literature review: A guide for healthcare researchers, practitioners and students by Edward Purssell and Niall McCrae
ISBN: 9783030496722
Publication Date: 2020
See Chapter 7: Reviewing quantitative studies: Meta-analysis and narrative approaches
Meta-Ethnography by George W. Noblit & R. Dwight Hare This provocative volume deals with one of the chief criticisms of ethnographic studies, a criticism which centres on their particularism or their insistence on context -- the question is asked: How can these studies be generalized beyond the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a method -- meta-ethnography -- for synthesizing from qualitative, interpretive studies. They show that ethnographies themselves are interpretive acts, and demonstrate that by translating metaphors and key concepts between ethnographic studies, it is possible to develop a broader interpretive synthesis. Using examples from numerous studies, the authors illuminate how meta-ethnography works, isolate several types of meta-ethnographic study and provide a theoretical justification for the method′s use.
ISBN: 9780803930230
Publication Date: 1988

Cochrane: 21.10 Selecting a qualitative evidence synthesis and data extraction method Types of meta-synthesis: thematic, framework, and meta-ethnography.
Meta-synthesis (Temple University Library)
What is a meta-synthesis? Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine

References

Erwin, E. J., Brotherson, M. J., & Summers, J. A. (2011). Understanding qualitative metasynthesis: Issues and opportunities in early childhood intervention research. Journal of early intervention, 33(3), 186-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815111425493

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

Lachal, J., Revah-Levy, A., Orri, M., & Moro, M. R. (2017). Metasynthesis: An original method to synthesize qualitative literature in psychiatry. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 8, Article 269. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00269

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

Lockwood, C., Munn, Z., & Porritt, K. (2015). Qualitative research synthesis: methodological guidance for systematic reviewers utilizing meta-aggregation. JBI Evidence Implementation, 13(3). https://journals.lww.com/ijebh/Fulltext/2015/09000/Qualitative_research_synthesis__methodological.10.aspx

MacEntee, M. I. (2019). A typology of systematic reviews for synthesising evidence on health care. Gerodontology, 36(4), 303-312. https://doi.org/10.1111/ger.12439

Tong, A., Flemming, K., McInnes, E., Oliver, S., & Craig, J. (2012). Enhancing transparency in reporting the synthesis of qualitative research: ENTREQ. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 12(1), 181-181. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-12-181