Literature Reviews and Meta Analysis
This chapter discusses the most common research methodology in psychology: the literature review. Reviews generally have three purposes: (1) to critically evaluate and summarize a body of research; (2) to reach some conclusions about that research; and, f
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Abstract: This chapter discusses the most common research methodology in psychology: the literature review. Reviews generally have three purposes: (1) to critically evaluate and summarize a body of research; (2) to reach some conclusions about that research; and, finally, (3) to offer suggestions for future work. The basic and expert competencies required for completing a high quality literature review are described by discussing seven major components of reviews along with relevant questions that should be answered to assess the successful completion of each component. A major focus is on meta-analysis, but guidelines are pertinent in assessing the quality of various types of reviews including reviews of theories and clinical applications. Readers are directed to additional helpful resources in order to aide them in becoming critical consumers or producers of good literature reviews.
18.1 Overview What is the most common research method in psychology? Is it a correlational study, a qualitative case study, an N of 1 within-subject design, a quasi-experimental design, or a randomized true experiment? It is none of these. Without question, the most common research method used in psychology is the literature review. Everyone who does any type of study or prepares any type of research report begins with a literature review. This is as true for every author of a professional publication, a technical report, or a grant proposal as it is for every graduate student who does a masters thesis or dissertation. The type and depth of these reviews vary depending on the circumstances, but reviews generally have three general purposes: (1) to critically evaluate and summarize a body of research, (2) to reach some conclusions about that research, and, finally, (3) to offer suggestions for future work. Literature reviews have become a highly valued research method. Some highly respect ed journals publish only reviews (e.g., Annual Review of Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, Review of Educational Research), and many journals publish reviews periodically. A conservative estimate is that over 300 published literature reviews appear in the social sciences each year. Some reviews become highly influential and receive many citations as others have recognized the important contributions that reviews have made in different research areas. The fifth edition of the Publication Manual (American Psychological Association, 2001) describes review articles, including meta-analyses, as critical evaluations of previously published material: By organizing, integrating, and evaluating previously published material, the author of a review article considers the progress of current research toward clarifying a problem. In a sense, a review article is tutorial in that the author: defines and clarifies the problem; summarizes previous J. Thomas, M. Hersen (eds.), Handbook of Clinical Psychology Competencies, DOI 10.1007/978-0-387-09757-2_18, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
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Literature Reviews and Meta Analysis
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