Systematic Reviews With Meta-Analysis Why, When, and How?

A very interesting article by Elisabetta Crocetti that introduces the meta- analysis, step by step suggests the best practices , and discusses the importance of conducting a meta- analysis for the emerging adult field.

  • Crocetti, E. (2016). Systematic reviews with meta-analysis: Why, when, and how? Emerging Adulthood, 4 (1), 3-18.

Abstract

Systematic reviews with meta-analysis represent the gold standard for conducting reliable and transparent reviews of the literature. The purpose of this article is threefold: (a) to address why and when it is worthwhile to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis, covering advantages of this approach in the context of the statistics reform in the behavioral sciences; (b) to explain how to conduct and publish a systematic review with meta-analysis, describe the main steps, and suggest best practices for each of them; and (c) to discuss the relevance of conducting a systematic review with meta-analysis for the emerging adulthood field, suggesting how this approach can be applied to address research questions about the specificity of this period. In addressing these issues, a fictitious systematic review with meta-analysis aimed at examining gender differences in the view of emerging adulthood as a period of exploration, instability, self-focus, feeling-in-between, and possibilities is presented. Furthermore, individual participant data systematic review with meta-analysis is proposed as an important future direction for conducting reviews within the social sciences.

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