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1 – 10 of over 43000Purpose – This chapter gives an overview of meta-analytic methods and illustrates the use of these methods for synthesising research findings. The advantages of performing a…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter gives an overview of meta-analytic methods and illustrates the use of these methods for synthesising research findings. The advantages of performing a meta-analysis are described. Pitfalls in meta-analyses are also discussed. The chapter is intended to present the main elements of a meta-analysis and guide readers to literature presenting meta-analytic methods in greater detail.
Methodology – Key references in the meta-analysis literature are quoted and examples of meta-analyses are presented.
Findings – A meta-analysis is a useful tool for summarising knowledge in fields where a large number of studies have been reported. In addition to providing summary estimates of results, a meta-analysis can be applied to identify factors that produce systematic variation in study findings.
Research implications – Methods of meta-analyses keep developing to deal with complex data structures, thus extending the type of research findings that are amenable to meta-analyses.
Practical implications – Performing a meta-analysis saves labour by eliminating the need to read and digest a large number of studies in order to get an overview of the current state-of-knowledge in a field. Moreover, a meta-analysis establishes a system for easily and quickly updating knowledge as new studies become available.
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Peter J. Buckley, Timothy M. Devinney and Ryan W. Tang
Over the past decade, international business and international management researchers have utilized meta-analytic approaches to synthesizing findings in the extant literature…
Abstract
Over the past decade, international business and international management researchers have utilized meta-analytic approaches to synthesizing findings in the extant literature. This chapter reviews the studies published in the top five international business and management journals from 2004 to 2012. The review investigates major problems in the published meta-analyses by evaluating their overall analyses as well as the approaches utilized. The findings of this review reveal differences among the journals and improvements in the approaches applied in recent years. The chapter ends by discussing why and how international business and management researchers need to focus more on methodological fundamentals in their applications of meta-analysis.
Dan R. Dalton and Catherine M. Dalton
Meta-analysis has been relied on relatively infrequently in strategic management studies, certainly as compared to other fields such as the medical sciences, psychology, and…
Abstract
Meta-analysis has been relied on relatively infrequently in strategic management studies, certainly as compared to other fields such as the medical sciences, psychology, and education. This may be unfortunate, as there are several aspects of the manner in which strategic management studies are typically conducted that make them especially appropriate for this approach. To this end, we provide a brief foundation for meta-analysis, an example of meta-analysis, and a discussion of those elements that strongly recommend the efficacy of meta-analysis for the synthesis of strategic management studies.
Andreas Rauch and Michael Frese
We argue that entrepreneurship research should use meta-analysis to integrate the findings of the field. A meta-analytical approach has several advantages as compared with…
Abstract
We argue that entrepreneurship research should use meta-analysis to integrate the findings of the field. A meta-analytical approach has several advantages as compared with narrative reviews: First, narrative reviews are likely to bias empirical evidence because they are limited by the information-processing capacities of the reviewers (Tett, Jackson, & Rothstein, 1991). This is often a downward bias leading to the conclusion of little positive knowledge in the field. For example, frequency counts of significant results ignore sampling errors of individual studies, reliability problems of instruments, range restrictions of samples, dichotomization of continuous variables, imperfect construct validity, and extraneous factors (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). These issues usually result in a higher incidence of Type II errors (i.e., rejecting the hypothesis wrongly). Thus, narrative reviews are more likely to lead to the conclusion that there are no relationships between independent and dependent variables in entrepreneurship when in fact they are (Hunter & Schmidt, 1990; Tett et al., 1991). Second, meta-analysis accumulates studies based on a set of explicit decision rules and, therefore, is less biased by subjective perceptions of the reviewer than narrative reviews. Meta-analyses require judgments as well, e.g., when defining the area of the study or coding moderator variables. However, the decisions are public and open to criticism and replication by other scientists (Johnson & Eagly, 2000). Third, meta-analysis is based on many studies and, thus, avoids the influence of single studies. Fourth, meta-analysis controls for sampling error variance and, thus, controls for power deficits of individual studies (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). For example, the Brockhaus and Nord (1979) study is frequently cited in the entrepreneurship literature for providing evidence that there is no relationship of personality characteristics with entrepreneurship. However, this study is based on a small sample of 31 business owners and therefore, has serious statistical power problems. Noteworthy, the effect sizes of small samples are less precise in estimating a population value than effect sizes of larger samples. Fifth, meta-analyses can correct many errors of individual studies (Hunter & Schmidt, 2004). Since meta-analyses estimate population correlations between given variables, it is important to correct for errors of studies (e.g., unreliability, range restriction, and sampling error) to achieve unbiased estimates. Sixth, meta-analysis allows an assessment of the magnitude of relationships and, thus, provides more precise and often comparable assessments of the validity of concepts. Thus, meta-analyses support the assessment of the practical significance of findings. Seventh, meta-analysis tests for variations in relationships across studies and, therefore, allows an assessment of the generalizeability of effects. If the size of reported relationships varies considerably between different studies, there will be context conditions that account for these variations. These context conditions are moderators that affect the size of relationships. The moderators may include study characteristics, method moderators, and theoretical moderators. Thus, meta-analyses also help to identify areas for new studies. Finally, meta-analysis techniques allow to test more than one independent and/or moderator variable by using methods based on regression analysis (Lipsey & Wilson, 2001). Using such procedures allows to estimate the independent contribution of variables on results, to control for methodological variables, and to test the interactions between moderator variables.
Timothy M. Devinney and Ryan W. Tang
Meta-analysis is one of a number of scientific approaches for accumulating knowledge in a research domain. It provides a quantitative synthesis of a literature using various…
Abstract
Meta-analysis is one of a number of scientific approaches for accumulating knowledge in a research domain. It provides a quantitative synthesis of a literature using various statistical instruments. This chapter introduces the main points underlying meta-analytic methodology by discussing its merits when compared to a conventional literature review and covers the fundamental approaches used when conducting a meta-analysis. Criticism of meta-analysis is briefly discussed in the context of the major issues facing meta-analysis in international business.
Jeremy D. Mackey, Charn P. McAllister, Liam P. Maher and Gang Wang
Recently, there has been an increase in the number and type of studies in the organizational sciences that examine curvilinear relationships. These studies are important because…
Abstract
Recently, there has been an increase in the number and type of studies in the organizational sciences that examine curvilinear relationships. These studies are important because some relationships have context-specific inflection points that alter their magnitude and/or direction. Although some scholars have utilized basic techniques to make meta-analytic inferences about curvilinear effects with the limited information available about them, there is still a tremendous opportunity to advance our knowledge by utilizing rigorous techniques to meta-analytically examine curvilinear effects. In a recent study, we used a novel meta-analytic approach in an effort to comprehensively examine curvilinear relationships between destructive leadership and followers' workplace outcomes. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an actionable guide for conducting curvilinear meta-analyses by describing the meta-analytic techniques we used in our recent study. Our contributions include a detailed guide for conducting curvilinear meta-analyses, the useful context we provide to facilitate its implementation, and our identification of opportunities for scholars to leverage our technique in future studies to generate nuanced knowledge that can advance their fields.
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Kristina K. Lindsey-Hall, Eric J. Michel, Sven Kepes, Ji (Miracle) Qi, Laurence G. Weinzimmer, Anthony R. Wheeler and Matthew R. Leon
The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a step-by-step primer on systematic and meta-analytic reviews across the service field, to systematically analyze the quality of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this manuscript is to provide a step-by-step primer on systematic and meta-analytic reviews across the service field, to systematically analyze the quality of meta-analytic reporting in the service domain, to provide detailed protocols authors may follow when conducting and reporting these analyses and to offer recommendations for future service meta-analyses.
Design/methodology/approach
Eligible frontline service-related meta-analyses published through May 2021 were identified for inclusion (k = 33) through a systematic search of Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO, Business Source Complete, Web of Science, Google Scholar and specific service journals using search terms related to service and meta-analyses.
Findings
An analysis of the existing meta-analyses within the service field, while often providing high-quality results, revealed that the quality of the reporting can be improved in several ways to enhance the replicability of published meta-analyses in the service domain.
Practical implications
This research employs a question-and-answer approach to provide a substantive guide for both properly conducting and properly reporting high-quality meta-analytic research in the service field for scholars at various levels of experience.
Originality/value
This work aggregates best practices from diverse disciplines to create a comprehensive checklist of protocols for conducting and reporting high-quality service meta-analyses while providing additional resources for further exploration.
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Hossein Motahari-Nezhad and Aslan Sadeghdaghighi
No comprehensive statistical assessment of publication bias has been conducted in remdesivir-based intervention research for COVID-19 patients. This study aims to examine all…
Abstract
Purpose
No comprehensive statistical assessment of publication bias has been conducted in remdesivir-based intervention research for COVID-19 patients. This study aims to examine all meta-analyses of the efficacy of remdesivir interventions in COVID-19 patients and perform a statistical assessment of publication bias.
Design/methodology/approach
This is an analytic study conducted to assess the impact of publication bias on the results of meta-analyses of remdesivir-based interventions in patients infected with COVID-19. All English full-text meta-analyses published in peer-reviewed journals in 2019–2021 were included. A computerized search of PubMed and Web of Science electronic databases was performed on December 24, 2021. The trim-and-fill method calculated the number of missing studies and the adjusted cumulative effect sizes.
Findings
The final analysis comprised 21 studies with 88 outcomes. The investigation revealed missing studies in 46 outcomes (52%). Seventy-six missing studies were replaced in the outcomes using the trim-and-fill procedure. The adjusted recalculated effect sizes of the 27 outcomes increased by an average of 0.04. In comparison, the adjusted effect size of 18 outcomes fell by an average of 0.036. Only 14 out of 46 outcomes with publication bias were subjected to a gray literature search (30%). To discover related research, no gray literature search was conducted in most outcomes with publication bias (n = 32; 70%). In conclusion, the reported effect estimates regarding the effect of remdesivir in COVID-19 patients are only slightly affected by publication bias and can be considered authentic. Health-care decision-makers in COVID-19 should consider current research results when making clinical decisions.
Research limitations/implications
Most health decisions are based on the effect sizes revealed in meta-analyses. When deciding on remdesivir-based treatment for COVID-19 patients, therefore, the outcomes of this investigation may be of paramount importance to health policymakers, leading to better treatment strategies.
Practical implications
According to the results, no major publication bias and missing studies were detected on average. Therefore, the calculated effect sizes of remdesivir-based interventions on meta-analyses can be used as authentic and unbiased benchmarks by health-care decision-makers in treating patients with COVID-19.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine the effect of publication bias and gray literature searches on the results of meta-analyses of treatment with COVID-19 (remdesivir).
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No study has investigated the effects of different parameters on publication bias in meta-analyses using a machine learning approach. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the…
Abstract
Purpose
No study has investigated the effects of different parameters on publication bias in meta-analyses using a machine learning approach. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the impact of various factors on publication bias in meta-analyses.
Design/methodology/approach
An electronic questionnaire was created according to some factors extracted from the Cochrane Handbook and AMSTAR-2 tool to identify factors affecting publication bias. Twelve experts were consulted to determine their opinion on the importance of each factor. Each component was evaluated based on its content validity ratio (CVR). In total, 616 meta-analyses comprising 1893 outcomes from PubMed that assessed the presence of publication bias in their reported outcomes were randomly selected to extract their data. The multilayer perceptron (MLP) technique was used in IBM SPSS Modeler 18.0 to construct a prediction model. 70, 15 and 15% of the data were used for the model's training, testing and validation partitions.
Findings
There was a publication bias in 968 (51.14%) outcomes. The established model had an accuracy rate of 86.1%, and all pre-selected nine variables were included in the model. The results showed that the number of databases searched was the most important predictive variable (0.26), followed by the number of searches in the grey literature (0.24), search in Medline (0.17) and advanced search with numerous operators (0.13).
Practical implications
The results of this study can help clinical researchers minimize publication bias in their studies, leading to improved evidence-based medicine.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to model publication bias using machine learning.
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This paper aims to highlight a research on integrating technology into teaching and learning of second/foreign language writing.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to highlight a research on integrating technology into teaching and learning of second/foreign language writing.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 18 empirical studies, involving a total of 1,281 second and foreign language learners, have been reviewed. These studies are selected from the following two databases: Web of Science and Google Scholar. The meta-analysis investigates how effect sizes vary depending on these moderators as follows: stage of writing, language context, learners’ educational level and language proficiency level.
Findings
The findings of this meta-analysis have indicated that technology has a large effect on second/foreign language writing (d = 1.7217). These findings have also revealed that the two stages of writing, drafting and editing, have received most of the researchers’ concern. In addition, high school and university learners have achieved a larger effect size of using technology in writing learning; beginner learners have achieved the smallest effect size.
Originality/value
To sum, the previous meta-analyses and reviews tried to explore the effect of computer on writing skills. However, some of them were limited to special groups (Williams and Beam, 2019) and some others analyzed very few studies (Little et al., 2018). Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of the effect of implementing technology in writing skills is needed. The purpose of this study is to perform a meta-analysis of the primary studies about the integration of technology into writing skills. The primary goals of this meta-analysis were to: examine the overall effects of implementing technology in writing; synthesize the relationship between technology and a number of moderators such as stages of writing, language context, learners’ target language proficiency and learners’ educational level (school and university).
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