meta analysis

• meta analysis is a statistical method that combines the result of multiple studies on a certain research question

  meant to give a summary of all evidence on a topic and draw out general patters/conclusions
• • use data base to search for revelavant studies which may fit with the research question
  • screen the studies with a pre-determined list of criteria, if they fit this decide with more than one person which will be used in th analysis to avoid bias
• • strengths of a meta analysis
  • There is less chance of bias confounding the results due to the use of secondary data
  • The researchers have not carried out the research themselves so they cannot have influenced the outcome in any way
  • This increases the reliability of the findings as a large number of studies analysed statistically increases the robustness of data/
  • strength 2
  • It is possible to generalise the findings to a wider population due to the number of studies included in the meta-analysis
  • This increases the external validity of the findings
• • The use of secondary data means that the researchers cannot be 100% confident as to the degree of precision exercised by the original researchers
  • They have no control over how key variables are operationalised
  • studies included likely use different research designs/environemnts raising the question of whether the data is comparable
  • This limits the reliability of the findings to some extent
  • not able to be used for all areas of psychology for example investigating a new area of research or a phenomenon