Meta-analysis

• Define meta-analysis

  a statistical technique used to gather data from lots of studies on the same topic, and combine them to see the overall effect
• Strength: large numbers used in meta-analysis

  • Results can be saved from being skewed
  • So any poorly conducted studies or invalid results only have a small effect on the overall results, increasing the validity of the findings
• Limitation: meta-analysis are susceptible to researcher bias


  The researcher collecting the data may pick specific studies that only provide the outcome that the researcher is looking for
• Limitation: meta-analysis reduce reliability


  • not all details of a study may be given as the researcher was not actively involved in the study when it was done and so some data may be missing which can affect the overall result of that study
  • Poor designs are also mixed with good ones which can skew the statistical result
• Strength: meta analysis is money efficient 


  Using Meta-analysis is also a cheaper way to conduct your research as you do not have to pay expenses for carrying out an experiment.